You tell me, who's the frozen heart now?
by Melissa Melot
Summary: After being banned from the Southern Isles, Hans returns to Arendelle to seek revenge against Elsa. As he's about to kill her, he suddenly changes his mind and decides to take her with him back to his Kingdom to use her powers against his brothers. But, things don't turn out as planned and they start to fall for each other. Takes place after the Great Thaw. Rated M for safety.
1. Prologue

_Disclaimer: I don't own Frozen._

**PROLOGUE**

Alone in the dark and dank dungeon of the Southern Isles's castle, Hans was counting the seconds, leaning against the cold wall of his prison. He couldn't figure out what kind of punishment his brothers would decide of after he tried to take over the throne of Arendelle and to murder Queen Elsa.

His ordeal began as soon as he had returned to his Kingdom, encaged aboard a foreign vessel, and ruthlessly handed over to the royal guards of the Southern Isles. They directly conducted him in the dungeon and locked him in the smallest and darkest cell. Daylight was nonexistent. The only gleam came from a lantern the warder lit twice a day when lunch and dinner were brought to the prisoners.

The First Counselor of the Kingdom, his sixth oldest brother Friederik, came to visit him once. He has been the only one out of his twelve brothers to pay him a visit. The only one. He walked down the stairs and stopped in front of his cell. Hans thought he would at least open the door, but he just addressed him behind the metallic bars of the cell. Hans looked away from the man standing before him to fix the wall. "I notice the King didn't even bother to walk down here…" he said, a smirk on his lips. "Our beloved brother, His Royal Highness the King, has much more important affairs to deal with. I've come here to inform you that your trial shall be held in three days from now. The jury shall be composed of the high dignitaries of the Kingdom; and chaired by our brother the Chief Justice of the Court. You will not attend; order of His Majesty the King. The judgment shall be delivered in ten days from now at exactly eleven o'clock on the Great Square, in your presence and in front of the high dignitaries and the people of the Kingdom," Friederik replied.

Such formality! thought Hans. His own brother was talking to him like he would talk to a stranger, with such aloofness and disdain. But, what bothered him the most was how the judgment was going to be delivered: in front of people. So his brothers were planning on humiliating him again. His heart tightened at the thought and that night, he couldn't fall asleep until the lantern totally ran out of oil.

**_Author's note: Hi guys. So this my first fanfiction ever. I totally fell in love with Disney's Frozen, so I wanted to write something about it. Also, I was so rooting for Elsa and Hans to be together because of the trailer I've seen before going to see the movie. I think they could have been a great couple. So that's what caused me to write this fanfiction I guess._**

**_Sorry, it's a little too short, but that's the prologue. Next chapters will be longer I promise._**

**_Reviews are highly appreciated. I'd really like to know what you think about my story (this is my first fanfiction, so please be lenient) ^^_**


	2. Judgement time

**CHAPTER I: JUDGEMENT TIME**

His stay in that cell had shocked him for they were unlikely treating him like the prince he was. He was indeed treated like all the other prisoners, not benefiting from any preferential treatment due to his status. Food was terrible, hygiene was lacking, the cell was far too small to exercise, and he wasn't even allowed to read a book to spend his days. However, he had to acknowledge the other prisoners were rather silent and he appreciated that. Noise had always been unbearable to him because it prevented him from thinking properly.

He was observing a mold task on the wall facing him when he heard footsteps coming toward him.

"Good evening Hans" said a high-pitched voice.

It was Gorm Nielsen, the Vice Counselor of the Kingdom. He was a disagreeable man according to Hans. Or maybe was he just as ambitious as he was himself. He could notice that by the way he always talked and moved. He was a thin short man, eyes and hair as dark as the dust strewing the floor of the cell, but that didn't stop him from admiring himself in front of the mirror all day long like the narcissistic he surely was. He would always look down on people with a lower rank than his as if they were nobodies. Furthermore, his voice was insufferable. Hans had always wondered how he had managed to get into the good graces of the King.

As Hans wasn't answering, Gorm moved closer to the cell and went on: "What's happening to you is deplorable. However, you are the only one to blame in this… unfortunate turn of events". He suddenly lowered his voice. "In your place, even I would have done better". He came closer to Hans in order to watch attentively his face. His voice turned back to normal as he continued casually: "The other day, I went hunting with His Majesty the King. There were beautiful red foxes whose fur alone would be worth a bag of gold coins. The King killed five of those beasts, all by himself! The whole court praised his feat. But a fox was still alive when we returned to the castle. One of the courtiers wanted to finish it off but, the King of Bavaria – who was on a diplomatic visit – stepped in and offered the King to trade one of its outbuildings in his own Kingdom for the living fox. See? Sometimes, a beast is worth more alive than dead!"

With these words, Gorm went away laughing. Hans remained perplexed by what the Vice Counselor just told him. He couldn't care less about his little hunting party! He was about to be sentenced to death and executed in public, and that idiotic Nielsen was just bragging about his life?! What an appalling lack of consideration, he thought.

Later, they came to bring him dinner. The warder placed on the floor a bowl containing some sort of mixture of mashed potatoes and soup, along with a glass of water. Hans quenched his thirst but didn't touch the food. He just couldn't bring himself to eat something barely resembling anything he had experienced so far. He was a prince after all.

* * *

When the day of the trial came, Hans remained in his cell, thoughtful. He couldn't attend his own trial, which meant he had no right to defend himself, or at least to try to explain himself. Well, he didn't mind. His brothers never left him the chance to express – to tell his side of the story – anyway. He had always been the one to blame for everything. Being the youngest of thirteen siblings, they would always put the blame of their own mistakes on him, and so would he always end up being punished for them. Always. And it was a waste of time to try and protest. No one would listen to him. No one ever paid attention to him. He was that superfluous useless spare child one didn't know what to do with. He wouldn't ever attend official events of the Kingdom because "only important people must attend".

He had always felt rejected and despised during his entire childhood by most of his brothers. The only real bond he ever had was with two of his youngest brothers, the twins Helmer and Edmund, whom he was approximately two years apart. But, despite the fact they were the only ones of his brothers to give him value, he hated playing with them. So, he would always make up a whole bunch of ploys in order to convince them that playing with him was as boring as going horse riding on a donkey. He seemed so persuasive that they would swallow all of his lies.

The other ones barely talked to him. The elders even went as far as to deliberately ignore him for more than two years. His father, when he was still alive, didn't grant him any importance. He was far too busy, as were his brothers. Yet he was more than a nobody. He early became aware of his wit and ability to learn quickly, and of how to take advantage of this. This was his way to stand out among his brothers, to finally get noticed by their father. Hans craved his compliments; he needed his father to show him he meant something for him. So he had set the personal goal to excel in all areas, be it fencing or dancing, learning the management of the Kingdom's finances or absorbing legal texts. He knew History, Geography, had a sensibility for Art, was comfortable with arithmetic and rhetoric and mastered several languages including Greek and Latin. Moreover, he was a skilled horseman. He was an accomplished Prince. But no one noticed. He remained invisible to his father, to his brothers, to the world. He could have done every possible effort, all the doors were closed.

During his early teens, he would often stay in the castle library reading every book he could get his hands on. He had read all the writings related to the Enlightenment: _An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations_ by Smith, _Was ist Aufklärung?_ by Kant, _L'Encyclopédie ou Dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers_ by Diderot and d'Alembert, or _Du contrat social_ by Rousseau. He was fascinated by the works of past century that depicted so accurately the skills needed to be a good ruler. He liked to repeat this quote echoed by Diderot: "how happy will the peoples be when kings will be philosophers, or philosophers kings". He shared this idea and wanted to implement it. He knew he had all the skills required. Only, he probably won't ever ascend the throne.

* * *

It was nightfall, or so he thought because dinner was being served. Like the day before, and like all the other days, he didn't touch it, drinking only the water. He was surprised no one had come to make an account of the trial. He was counting on having at least a few clues on what will happen to him within a week. But nobody came. He tried to remember all of the judgments that had been delivered in the Southern Isles to try and estimate his own. The problem was his case was unique. It was the first time in the history of the Kingdom of the Southern Isles that a case of high treason was judged.

There was no shortage of cases of usurpation of the throne, but there was of their judgments. When someone wanted to depose a King and take his place, they rarely goofed up, thus becoming King. And as justice emanates from the King, they couldn't be judged. They carried the day.

That's how his eldest brother, Harald IV, became king: he deposed their uncle slitting his throat in his slumber a few years after he himself poisoned his own brother – their father – with arsenic in order to take over his throne. Once they were king, no one could question their authority without dying for it. Harald had besides ensured no one would ever question his power ever, first, by eliminating all the partisans of his uncle and their whole families; then, by finding for each of his brothers an important position in the Kingdom or a marriage of convenience with foreign queens or princesses. Also, he would often send away the oldest brothers to conduct wars he would regularly declare against neighboring Kingdoms in order to keep their mind occupied so that they wouldn't think about deposing him. His tactics were flawless; he thus secured the support of everyone by buying them off and stroking their ego. But he forgot his youngest brother. Harald didn't bother to find him a good alliance when he turned 21 like he did for all his other brothers because he just didn't consider him as a threat to his power. He knew Hans was sufficiently isolated and despised by his brothers and the people of the Kingdom not to have the support needed to carry out a coup d'état. He really wasn't worth considering.

Consequently, Hans chose to walk his own path. Some of his brothers had become king because they got married to a queen or a crown princess. So, when a neighboring Kingdom had announced the upcoming coronation of its Princess, he seized the opportunity and went to the ceremony in the hope of meeting the Queen-to-be and marrying her. But things raged out of control and he failed. Now he was in a damp dungeon imagining how he would experience a case law. He fell asleep worrying about the judgment that would be delivered in a few days.

* * *

On the morning of the day of his judgment, Hans was wakened up by the shrill noise of a sword against the bars of his cell. He painfully opened his eyes and saw the warder with a pair of handcuffs in one hand and a bunch of keys in the other. Besides him was Friederik putting his sword back into its sheath. "Stand" he said.

"Well! Isn't it His Majesty the First Counselor deigning to grant me a visit!" bragged Hans in a sarcastic tone.

"This is by no means a visit, Hans. Your sentence will be pronounced in thirty minutes. I have been instructed to accompany you to the Great Square."

"May I at least change clothes and shave? Or are you planning on exposing me to the people in those rags?" asked Hans with a hint of disbelief and fear in his voice.

"You have ten minutes" Friederik replied after a few seconds of consideration.

The warder then came forward and opened the door. He led Hans into a room where new and humble clothes were hanging on a wooden chair. A basin of water was placed on a table nearby. Hans turned to the warder as if to say to leave, but he didn't move an inch. Of course, they thought he was going to escape. Hans dealt with it and got ready within the granted ten minutes.

Then, the warder put the handcuffs on him before his brother came and led him to the Great Square. Hans noticed that a just a shortage of dignitaries were here. There was just the King, the First Counselor, the Chief Executive of the Court, his ninth oldest brother Henrik who was responsible for diplomatic relationships with neighboring kingdoms, Gorm Nielsen, a few guards, and the people. In sum, there were only the ones who had to be present due to their function.

The King was the first to speak: "Hans Peter Jenssen, thirteenth Prince of the Kingdom of the Southern Isles, you are charged with the crime of high treason against Queen Elsa of the Kingdom of Arendelle. Do you have something to say?"

"No, Your Majesty" Hans replied in a firm voice.

He heard the crowd uttering: "Murderer! Killer! Hang him!"

Murderer? But he hadn't killed anyone! He just wanted to be King. Not in the most honest of ways he conceived. But he was no murderer.

Henrik came closer to him, his long cape trailing behind him, and whispered in his ear: "they're right, aren't they? You are a murderer, since you were born."

Hans froze. His brother had just rub salt in the wound; he had just told him what he has been told his whole childhood. After all, wasn't he born a murderer? He caused the death of his own mother when she gave birth to him. He was inevitably predestined to be a criminal. Painful memories suddenly emerged: the nursemaid calling him "son of the devil", his brother Jonas crying and asking him "why has mother disappeared? I wish you were the one to disappear", Friederik telling him again and again no one loved him, his father threatening him with his sword because he was praying at the grave of his mother, his eldest brothers literally ignoring him during and after the funeral of their father.

"Silence!" ordered the First Counselor, which silenced the crowd.

Hans escaped from his thoughts. He was visibly turned upside down by this comment and tried to regain his composure as quickly as possible. He didn't want to be remembered as an example of ridicule because he couldn't keep a dignified posture the day of his judgment.

"After deliberation" continued the King "the jury has decided to inflict you the following penalties: you will be deprived of all your princely and honorific titles, you will be condemned to perpetual banishment, and your name and your very existence will be subject to _damnatio memoriae_ from this day on. Anyone attempting to help you or to talk to you shall be executed on the spot."

The King said nothing else. Hans didn't react. He heard the crowd rejoice at the sentence. His head was pounding like a drum. _Damnatio memoriae_. He tried to remember. It was the worst punishment ever. The world would do as if he never existed, his portraits would be burned, and his name would be erased from all documents, registers, and all existing supports in the Kingdom of the Southern Isles as well as in neighboring and partner Kingdoms. He would disappear forever. Not a single clue of his existence would be spared. He would be dead.

* * *

_**Author's note: So here is chapter 1, I hope you enjoyed it. Sorry for the wait by the way.**_

_**Don't hesitate to let me know what you think so far, and thank you for the reviews :)**_

_**Next chapter next week. It will be more focused on Elsa. See you soon!**_


	3. The weight of the crown

_**A/N: So here is chapter 2. I hope you'll enjoy it :)**_

**CHAPTER II : THE WEIGHT OF THE CROWN**

"Elsa!" The door of the study opened up abruptly and a strawberry blonde haired young woman entered like a hurricane, tripping over a pile of books that was in her way. "What're those doing down there?" she exclaimed rubbing her head. "Whatever. Elsa! I need you to hide me," she said to another young woman standing right in front of her. She was watching her, gently giggling, a hand elegantly covering her mouth.

"And why would I do that?" Elsa asked, looking amused while watching her sister getting up and roughly dusting her dress off.

Anna put on a fake anxious look and grabbed her sister's arms like she was begging her: "Look Elsa, I've dressed up Sven as a ballerina in order to surprise Kristoff, and then he came in and saw it, but instead of laughing like everyone else would do – right? – he just said 'oh my God Anna what the hell did you do?' And then I said 'surprise!' And I even put lipstick on Sven and all, and Sven was ok with that and as I know Kristoff is so overprotective about Sven, it was even more funnier and…"

"Anna," the Queen interrupted. She obviously had lost the thread of the conversation. She said with a raised eyebrow on her face: "how can I help you exactly?"

"I need you to hide me here, in your study. Kristoff won't ever come here to check. This time, I'll win the game!" The Princess giggled proving she enjoyed these hide-and-seek games much more than she would tell. Elsa was now used to see these two frequently teasing each other, and it wasn't the first time she would rather unwillingly participate to their amusements.

"Okay. Just hide in this closet," she advised her, pointing out a piece of furniture standing in the corner of the room.

"Thanks," Anna answered, her skirts swirling behind her as she ran toward the closet.

A few minutes later, there was a knock at the door. Elsa sighed and said in a majestic tone: "come in".

She was expecting to see a blonde young man coming in, but the one she actually saw was shorter. A snowman with a carrot nose came forward. Sitting in her chair, Elsa could just distinguish the twigs standing for his hair moving all around the room.

"Olaf?" Elsa questioned, "what are you looking for?"

"I'm looking for Anna," the snowman answered, busy looking behind the curtains and under the carpet.

Elsa laughed. "And where is Kristoff?" she asked while pointing out the closet where was hidden Anna.

Olaf nodded, showing her that he had understood the information she was giving him and started to walk toward the closet. "He's checking the second floor". He opened the closet's door wide, revealing Anna in a position that seemed far from natural. One arm was under a shelf as if she was carrying it, and the other arm was holding a folder whose sheets were falling down one by one, and to top it all, she was standing perfectly still, avoiding eye contact with the snowman as if she thought it would make her invisible to his eyes. But this wasn't the case. After a few seconds, she pouted and admitted defeat: "Okay, you've won, Olaf".

She walked out of the closet glaring at her sister who smiled at her.

* * *

Kristoff has been living in the castle for three months. Elsa, witnessing the love he and her sister shared, allowed the young ice harvester to come and live with them. They put Sven in the stables and it seemed to enjoy the company of the royal horses. Anna and Kristoff would spend a lot of time together, walking in the city or in the mountains, and they would often take Olaf and Sven with them. These two got along very well; they had become best friends. And Anna and Kristoff could spend more time together.

The ice harvester kept his job, but Elsa, feeling he would end up marrying her little sister eventually, thus becoming Prince of Arendelle, insisted he had adequate training. She hired a tutor to teach him the basic knowledge a future Prince should know. Anna volunteered to assist him in his training which – let's be honest – was such a bore to him.

The relationship between Anna and Elsa was getting better and better. Doors weren't closed anymore and Elsa had gradually learned how to control her powers even if she did lose control of them from times to times when her feelings were too intense. But, most importantly, she wasn't prisoner of her fears anymore, and she could finally catch up the lost time with her little sister. Of course, her position as a queen made her spend her days in her study dealing with new decrees to pass or strategies to put in place in order to revive the economy of the Kingdom. She spent most of her time with counselors or meeting dignitaries of Arendelle or foreign ambassadors. But, despite her busy schedule, she always managed to spend some time with her sister even if Anna had to come to her in her study because Elsa couldn't leave it until she had finished what she had to do. It was either the study or the library.

* * *

A winter day like many others, Anna came in Elsa's study to talk with her while Kristoff was gone selling ice. The two young women would usually laugh and talk around a hot chocolate or a chocolates box about the last gossips of the Kingdom. That day, someone knocked on the door and a messenger entered.

"An urgent letter for Her Majesty." The messenger handed her the letter and left the room without making a sound.

"What is it?" Anna asked, unable to hide her curiosity at the sight of this letter closed with a silver seal.

Elsa opened the letter and read it to herself. Visibly confused, she turned to her sister and said: "this is a letter from the King of Hiroudgen. He's offering me his son in marriage".

Anna opened her eyes wide and a large smile appeared on her lips: "oh my Gooood! That's soooo great! You're getting married and you're gonna have children! I love children! I'm gonna have nephews! I'll take care of them as if they were my own children and then…"

"Anna," Elsa interrupted, looking sad, "have you learned nothing from what happened to you? You can't marry a man you barely know. In fact, one should only marry a man they love and who loves them back."

The young princess dropped her smile, her face suddenly seeming sadder. She moved forward her sister and said: "I'm sorry Elsa. I thought you knew him. Well, actually, I'm worried about you. You must feel so lonely being be the Queen, writing letters to Kings, greeting ambassadors and representing the Kingdom in the eyes of the world every day. I feel so sad not to be able to help you. You know, I'd love you could have everything I have with Kristoff."

Elsa had tears in her eyes. Her sister was concerned about her and wanted her to find happiness. She tried to answer as calmly as possible in order not to worry her more. "Anna, my dear little sister, don't worry about me. I'm fine. You know, you shouldn't rush me into the arms of the first to come just because you're worrying about me!" She said that last sentence laughing. She wanted to put a smile on her sister's face.

Anna walked up to her and hugged her. She whispered "I understand" and broke away from the embrace. Elsa got back to the letter she was writing, quietly sitting behind her desk. Anna started to leave but she stopped and turned back to look at her sister. "I forgave him," she added.

Elsa looked up, confused. She said: "I'm sorry, I think I don't understand…"

"I've forgiven Hans for what he did to me."

The Queen couldn't believe her ears. She rose up from her chair and walked to the Princess: "What? How can you forgive this man? He has no heart!"

Elsa was becoming irritable far too easily. The mention of the Prince's name made her feel guilty. She had been having dreams about him for months. Indecent dreams she was ashamed of. She was on the defensive, as if she was afraid someone could read her thoughts, and her feelings were far too noticeable compared to Anna who replied with a calm and gentle voice: "and that's exactly his punishment. I don't need to blame or curse him for what he has done to me; he's already paying the price of his sins by creating his own misfortune. I'm happy now that I have found true love and, more than resenting him, I truly pity him. He'll never know what love is nor will he be happy by deceiving people."

The wisdom and the compassion of her little sister left Elsa speechless. She thought she would hate him and would want him die the most horrible way possible after he deceived her and used her to take over the throne of Arendelle, but instead, she had given him her grace. Anna truly had a golden heart.

"And…" Anna seemed to want to add something, but she hesitated.

"Yes?" Elsa encouraged her.

"I don't think he's that wicked. I mean, I know he tried to kill us and used me, but I don't think he's been acting all the time. Someone can't just pretend to be someone else just like that, right? It just doesn't make sense". She paused and smiled. "I'm sure there was a hint of truth in the way he was the whole time he spent with me."

Elsa took her sister's hands in hers and gently looked in her eyes. Of course, Anna had told her everything that happened between them and everything they had said to each other when the Prince was here in Arendelle, including how he had always felt rejected by his twelve brothers and never really felt at home. Although she could imagine how difficult it must have been for him to grow up in such an environment, she couldn't help it but to tell her sister: "Anna, he's a pretty beguiler. He only shows you what you want to see."

Anna put on a sad face. She didn't seem convinced by what Elsa had just told her. She knew deep inside that the man she thought she loved because she was so desperate to finally meet her _Prince Charming_, even if he had unscrupulously used that weakness against her in order to achieve his goals, couldn't have pretended to be someone else the whole time. After all, the best lies are always based on truth. "You're probably right but I refuse to believe evil is born and I think everyone can find redemption as long as they want it."

Elsa smiled. The words of the young princess were so full of wisdom, which was surprising for her young age. "I think so too, Anna."

Anna smiled back and releasing from her grip, she walked toward a small purple box on the desk next to letters and inkwells. "So, what are you gonna do about that Prince of Hirouene?" she asked casually moving a chocolate from the box to her mouth and swallowing it.

The Queen chuckled and replied: "It's _Hiroudgen_". She was back on a good mood. "I'll tell him I'm not interested for the moment. I don't want a hasty marriage."

"Yeah. It's better this way" agreed Anna. She took another chocolate and left the study, thus letting Elsa carry on her royal duties.

As she was writing the response letter to the King of Hiroudgen, she wandered if she wasn't making a mistake refusing his offer. As a queen, she had to put the interests of her Kingdom before her own, and Arendelle was suffering a heavy economic slowdown. The harvests had been very poor and fishermen were complaining about how the fishes from the fjord had migrated to warmer waters thus making fishing almost impossible. All of this obviously was the impact of the damages caused by her powers when she froze the entire Kingdom last July. However, the Kingdom had no shortage of ice blocks that would probably remain unsold – especially in winter – and the losing of the Kingdom of Weselton as a trading partner had much more impact than she would have thought.

She had hired a Royal Adviser who confirmed her suspicions and worsened her fears. He was a graying-haired old man named Gustav who already served under the reign of her father. He would always watch people in a threatening way and would often make Elsa uncomfortable. Rather than finding ways to get Arendelle out of the crisis, he would only point out her mistakes and blame her silly political decisions. She had been tempted to fire him several times but if she was being guided so easily by her feelings, she would never be a great queen.

Finally, he advised her to work out a marriage of convenience. According to him, it was the easiest and fastest way to solve all of the problems Arendelle was facing. The economic support from an another Kingdom would help hers out of the crisis, and, he added, a marriage and the birth of an heir would not only give hope and happiness to her people but also ensure the royal bloodline, thus reassuring the other Kingdoms and encouraging them to multiply trades with Arendelle. The goal was to give the image of a stable and peaceful Kingdom.

So, all of her problems would be solved just by a marriage? The Royal Adviser was pretty sure about it. Elsa herself couldn't deny the fact that it would make things easier, and here she received a proposal on a silver platter. She wondered if Sir Gustav wasn't behind all of this and contacted the King of Hiroudgen without her being aware of it in order to let him know that the Queen of Arendelle was marriageable. What should she do? She didn't want to get married. Not like this. She hadn't known love yet and highly doubted that she could fall in love with a man fifteen years her elder, let alone if she had to marry him before she could even talk to him. There had to be another way to restore the economy of her Kingdom, at least until she could organize some balls and meet someone suitable for her, just like the way Anna met Hans.

Hans… He embodied the perfect _Prince Charming_, although she had found him a little too childish for her taste. That's what she thought the first time she saw him when Anna had presented him. He was handsome with eyes the color she hadn't ever seen before, tall, attentive and had impeccable manners. And even though the precipitate nature of their betrothal had been the only reason why she refused to give her blessing, she couldn't help but feel a little jealous for a moment. And she was ashamed. Of course, she had quickly thrown away this feeling to focus on the wellbeing of her sister, and a marriage with a man she just met was out of the question. Eventually, it turned out she was right to refuse their marriage when he revealed his true scheme.

However, she couldn't deny the fact that the way he took care of the Kingdom for the time she was missing was perfect. She heard how her people were outraged by the way the Prince of the Southern Isles had been sent back to his Kingdom since they refused to believe that a young man as caring and benevolent as he had been toward them – opening up the doors of the castle to serve them soup and going as far as to ladle out warm cloaks _himself_ – could be an impostor whose sole purpose had been to take over the throne. Yes, it was hard to believe. He had concealed his true self so well she herself fell into the trap.

Suddenly, she became even tenser than she already was. What if she did hold a ball and the person she met turned out to be just like Hans? Paying attention to her just because it would be a way for him to seize power? In that case, she would need to marry a King possessing his own Kingdom. Only, no King would accept to give up his own Kingdom to go to another one. Then, it would be she who had to leave her Kingdom to go live elsewhere. But in that case, this marriage wouldn't fit its purpose. She was lost.

Elsa spent most of the night thinking, making hypothesis and assumptions. None of her ideas seemed right. She feared she would be swindled in all cases. But she had to make the right decision and, it was not until morning, when the first rays of sunlight entered the room, that she put the quill between her fingers, dipped it in the Indian ink, and wrote down her answer to the King of Hiroudgen. She wouldn't accept the proposal. She signed the letter, put it in an envelope and added her seal before placing it among the other letters the royal messenger would take with him this day.

She was tired. She hadn't slept all night. The Queen left her study to go to her bedroom in order to get some sleep.

* * *

Elsa woke up in the midst of the afternoon. She dreamt about _him_, again. Still blushing, she buried her head in her hands for a few minutes to pull herself together before rising her head up again. She was in her dress from the day before because she hadn't had the strength to put on her nightgown. Her long hair was tousled but still braided. She was surprised no one came in to wake her up at 6 AM as usual. Perhaps Gerda had seen her early this morning getting to her room to sleep?

She got herself up, dressed up, and sat before her vanity. Today, she would make a bun. She combed and made her hair, then left her bedroom. She looked everywhere for her sister because she wanted to take a day off and enjoy it spending time with her. But, when she walked down the stairs to get to the courtyard, she saw her with Kristoff; they were gently kissing. She didn't want to disturb so she would go to the library instead to catch up some work. Anyway, if Anna needed her, she knew where to look for.


	4. Looking for a life purpose

**CHAPTER III : LOOKING FOR A LIFE PURPOSE**

Hans was immediately put out of his Kingdom's gates. He hadn't even had the time to grab with him some food to help him survive the time he'd find a place to realize what just happened to him. He hadn't even been allowed to take his horse, Sitron. It was cold. Very cold. It was winter. How many time did he spent in that cell? He had no idea. All he knew was that his feet were walking in the snow but with no place to go to. He was walking aimlessly.

He wouldn't go far anyway. It was so cold and his clothes were poorly suited for the weather. He was feeling weak. He was hungry. He wanted to cry, but he couldn't. He wanted to stop here and die frozen, buried under the snow, but his legs kept walking forward against his will. Die. That's what he wished for. That's what he had wished for when he was in his cell at the beginning. He did try to starve to death, refusing to eat or drink what the warder brought him and it did last several days. But, as he grew weaker and weaker day after day, he noticed no one cared. No one would care if he died. Even worse, no one would even bother to move his corpse out of the cell. They would without a doubt leave it in here to rot for years. His remains would undoubtedly serve to feed rats. It was then that he decided to fight, to survive. He thought that, anyway, his brothers would sentence him to death and would execute him in front of the people of the Kingdom, and that at least this way he could die like a man, out of that dark, dirty and damp place; that he wouldn't have to die alone without anyone noticing. Ever.

But no, they did condemn him to live. To live as a ghost. He had already spent his whole life as a ghost, remaining completely unnoticed alongside his brothers despite every effort he provided to get noticed. His punishment was by far worse than death in his eyes. Not only will he be even more ignored that he already was, but also will he be forgotten by hook or by crook by the few ones remembering him. And he won't have a future either. No friends. No family. No offspring that would perpetuate his name even if that name was damned. No shelter. No home. No nothing. God, he wished he was dead.

Memories of his life rushed through his head, but only one was clear enough for him to remember. He was 21. Noticing Harald wasn't doing anything to find him a marriage of convenience like he did to all of his brothers, he requested a hearing. At first, his brother refused to grant him a hearing, but as Hans insisted day after day, he couldn't decline any longer. Harald greeted him in his office. He was standing in front of the window. He was a tall man with brown hair and broad shoulders.

"Your Majesty," Hans had said while respectfully bowing down.

The King didn't turn to him. "What are you here for?" he spit out.

"It's been three months that I have turned 21. I was expecting, like for all of my brothers, you'd appoint me to a position," Hans simply answered.

The King turned round to face him, eyebrows knitted. He clearly didn't like to be reproached something. "All positions are already filled in the Kingdom," he replied in an almost nonchalant tone.

Hans let out an exasperated sigh. He was expecting this answer. He tried out another approach: "Then, send me elsewhere. I could get married and…"

"This is useless," Harald cut off, causing Hans to blanch a little. He threateningly walked to him with narrowed eyes and continued: "who would want to marry _you_? Should I remind you you have no land? A marriage is worth it only if each party has got something to bring to the other. And you…," he let out a disdainful laugh, "you have only your title."

Why did he love to rub salt in the wound so much? It wasn't necessary to remind him of this, he already knew it. Hans's gaze hardened and his jaw tightened: "in that case, entrust me a demesne. It should be an easy thing to do for you."

Harald's lips twisted into a grimace. "That is impossible, Hans. Father did not gift you with a land at your birth and I cannot go against his will."

"Father is dead," retorted Hans. "You're the King now. You've got the power to fix his omissions."

Harald opened up his eyes wide and growled: "how dare you talk this way?! Anyway, there's nothing available for you. The only way would be to take a portion from each of us to constitute you a dower, but that would deprive your brothers and their children from their lands on which they have an innate and legitimate right. _Unlike you_."

Disgust was now visible on his face. Will his brothers forever be putting a spanner in the works till the end of times? He quickly thought about a new idea. "There's your demesne," he suddenly said, "now that you're the King, you don't _need_ it anymore. I'll take care of it. I won't disappoint you. I promise you". He genuinely meant it. Harald's demesne was large. Even if he wouldn't want to give it up entirely, he could share it. This way, he will have fewer things to deal with and at the same time it would fill Hans's expectations. He heard about a Kingdom which operated the steam to move large machinery. He would have liked to experiment these new mechanics in his own land. He was convinced this science had a future.

But the answer he heard made him come back to earth: "this demesne, I have received it at birth, and it will stay _mine_ until I'm dead."

Yes, of course. How silly was he? And even after his death, it would be passed on to his children. He had to think of someone who died without leaving a direct heir behind. "So, what about our uncle's?" he suggested.

"What are you talking about? Our uncle has left nothing after his death," his brother answered as trivially as possible, watching through the window some bird landing on a tree.

The tone he spoke with hadn't fooled Hans though. He grinned and said: "I see… You've attached it to yours…"

Harald clenched his fists, rage visible yet controlled on his face. He answered with a threatening voice: "don't talk nonsense, Hans. You tried my patience and I think it is now time for you to leave."

Hans got scared. "Wait!" If he didn't get something _now_, he wouldn't get this chance ever again for his brother would reject another hearing request from him. So, he went for broke: "Helmer! Divide Helmer's lands! He doesn't _need_ them! He's brainsick!"

"No way. Get out."

God, his voice was ice cold. Hans lost his temper. "Why?!" he protested, "why am I the only one of us not to get a thing?! They all have lands and statuses but me!". He could feel tears filling his eyes. He was about to cry.

"Guards!"

Hans blenched. Was he a criminal for his brother to call the guards? He walked to his brother and asked him pleadingly: "Harald, please. Give me at least one town," he paused for a moment to observe Harald's impassive face, "a town is nothing to you. Do me a favor, for once". Tears began to flow along his cheeks. "I beg of you! We're brothers!" He had dropped this last sentence in hope to remind him they shared the same blood.

"Guards! Get _that man_ out of here!"

Hans stepped back, his jaw dropped, tears flowing down toward his chin. The guards came, took him by his arms and dragged him toward the exit. Hans didn't react at the beginning but, as they were heading to the door, he tried to free himself in vain. However, he did manage to make them stop a few moments so that he could look into the eyes of his brother.

"Listen carefully, Harald: some day, I _will_ be King". His face was distorted with hatred, his eyes were red from rage, and his jaw was tightly clenched. He held on Harald his gaze until the guards dragged him out of the office and closed the door right in his face.

His legs dropped off and he found himself kneeling on the snowy floor. His hands, sunk deep in snow, started to sting. First, light tingling, then, the feeling his fingers were torn out one by one. He couldn't even drop a tear. Why? He was literally destroyed. Everything that kept him alive until now had no meaning anymore. He was born disfavored and spent his whole life trying to redress the balance. But, what now? What was the point now of hanging on an unreachable dream? He will never be king. He will never be someone.

Why didn't that Queen deal with him herself? She had the power to do so. She just would have had to inform his brothers of his death and everything would have stopped there. He wouldn't have become that thing one couldn't even name without being executed. It was she who had decided to give him up to his brothers to judge a crime he had committed against her. She was responsible for his misfortune. If there was a person who had to pay, it was certainly her.

He had reached the point of no return and he was conscious about it. He had literally nothing to lose anymore, not even his human dignity. When you have fallen so low you're not even able to rise up again, the only thing left for you to keep on breathing is hatred. His hatred toward the Queen. He had to hang on to this feeling for it was the only one that kept him alive. He dug out his hands from the snow. They were scarlet. He couldn't feel them anymore. The woman did to his life what he just did to his hands. And the hatred he felt toward her would warm them up. _Revive_ them. He was already clenching and unclenching his fists. Blood was flowing, his fingers were warming up. It hurt, but it was the pain of being alive.

"Come on, Hans. One last effort. After that, you can die in peace." Why was he telling himself that? Did he need that to move forward? If he killed the Queen, at last he'll get satisfaction from revenge. They would remember him; even if it was as a murderer, it was better than nothing. He would take his own life right after killing the Queen for he would have no reason to live after that. No reason to survive.

* * *

He walked for a long time in the snow and in the cold before reaching a small town, almost isolated down a hill. He thought the inhabitants of this town hadn't received the latest royal directives concerning him yet and that he would be able to get supplies and buy clothes more fit for the cold. Only, he didn't have money, nor any jewel he could trade for anything.

Then, he saw an old lady going back home carrying a basket filled with groceries. She was wearing a black dress and looked nice yet sad. Hans thought she probably was feeling lonely. Watching her close the door of her house, he had an idea. He ruffled his hair and tore the collar of his shirt which he rearranged on his pants, giving himself a neglected look. The fact that he had been poorly nourished during his imprisonment gave him a tired and sickly look he intended to use in order to achieve his ends.

He didn't take pleasure in deceiving people but he couldn't deny that it made things a lot easier: he would always get by tough times. And it had always worked out very well until he went to Arendelle. There, his deception had been revealed. He'd been unmasked.

Some minutes later, he walked to the house of the old lady and knocked at the door. The old lady opened the door but stepped back. She was shocked to see such a handsome young man looking that terrible.

"What happened to you, son?" asked the old lady with an anxious voice.

"I'm so sorry to bother you, ma'am, but as I was on my way to my city, I got lost, and I've been wandering around for days now. You're the first person I meet for ages!". Hans said that so theatrically and yet so naturally that the old believed him right away and had pity on him.

"Come in, son, come warm yourself up. You look frozen. Oh my God! You're only skin and bones!" the old lady exclaimed. "What's your name, son?"

"I'm Peter, Ma'am. Peter Andersen," he replied.

"Come this way Peter. Sit here, near the fireplace. I'll prepare something to eat."

"I'm so confused to impose on you, Ma'am, you who are so generous as to offer me hospitality…"

"No, not at all! You're not imposing on me, son" the old lady replied in a comforting tone, "I'm eager to help."

The old lady retired to the kitchen to prepare food, letting Hans alone in the living room. He gave a quick glance to what was around him: simple furniture, a fireplace, dishes, some trifles, and a military medal hanging on the opposite wall. This medal has been awarded to the families of fallen soldiers from the last great war, six years ago. The age limit to exercise in the army being set at 45 years, unless she married a man several years her junior – which didn't make any sense in Hans's eyes – the old lady had had a son… That's probably why she was so good to him.

The old lady came back with a tray full of delicious food and put in on the table before him. "Here you go, have something to eat. You must be starving, my poor son".

"I can't thank you enough, Ma'am."

"Go ahead and eat. I'd be happy," she said smiling at him.

Hans eagerly ate the food. He hadn't tasted something that good for weeks, or even months. The soup had nothing to do with the one they served in the dungeon. This one didn't make him feel like vomiting after having taken a sip of it. And the bread was warm and soft. Hans was about to finish his plate when he asked the old lady: "I haven't asked you earlier, but… where are we?"

"We're in Granä, in the Southern Isles. It's a little town but it is quite lovely, don't you think?"

"Absolutely," he replied hastily, "but… do you leave here alone?"

"Ah… Yes… My husband died last year. So, I'm all alone now, counting the days." She paused a little before adding: "what about you, my son? What happened to you?"

Hans didn't want to talk about him. The old lady was so nice he didn't want to lie to her. In fact, she was the only who had ever been nice to him so far; he supposed that's how it felt to have a mother. Yet, he _had_ to. "I've been looking for a way to go back home for days now, and I got lost without food."

"Where do you want to go?" she asked.

The Prince didn't hesitate a second and replied: "you're telling me we're in the Southern Isles… So my city is located to the North, in the Kingdom of Arendelle".

He said that with such coldness that it gave chill to the old lady. However, she couldn't help but to make a comment: "that a long way from here! You'll never get in there in you poor condition!"

"Yet I must," he said imploringly, "my mother is dying and I have to go to her bedside as soon as possible."

"Oh poor boy… I understand… I understand…". The old lady had a compassionate look on her face, eyes filled with tears. "In that case, I'm not detaining you any longer.

Hans nodded and stood. He started to say: "Well, Ma'am, I thank you very much for your hospitality. I'll be leaving no-"

"Oh! Wait, son!" she interrupted quite terrified, "you're not leaving dressed like that! You'll just end up dead! Come with me. Follow me."

She led him to a room upstairs. There was a bed beside the window, and a wardrobe was put against the opposite wall. The old lady drew near the wardrobe and opened it only to pull out winter clothes, a long coat and boots that she handed to Hans, tears in her eyes.

"They belonged to my late son. Lukas. He died six years ago, during the War of the Fjords. I'm sure they'll fit you, you're built just like him".

"Thank you," he replied in a warm voice.

The old lady walked to the door and, before opening it, she turned back to Hans and said: "hurry up and get dressed, son. We'll pay a visit to a friend of mine. He can lend you a horse for you to go back home safe and sound."

Hans shook his head with a slight smile and the old lady get out of the room, gently closing the door behind her. He got himself dressed up, put on the boots and went downstairs to the living room where the old lady was waiting for him. She had wrapped up bread for him to take on his journey. "I know that's only bread," she said sadly, "but that's all I have to give you…"

Hans walked to the old lady and gently put a hand on her shoulder, comforting her. "Don't worry. What you've done to me is far too much already," he said with a warm smile. The old lady smiled back.

They got out of the house and went to the friend the old lady had talked about. He hesitantly yielded to hand him a horse after the old lady pleaded him. The Prince thanked his rescuers and, after inquiring their names, departed for the Kingdom of Arendelle where he could get revenge over this Queen who had stolen from him his past, his present and his future.

* * *

_**Author's notes: so here is chapter 3. I really enjoyed writing this chapter as it addresses that moment when Hans realizes he'll never have anything in his own Kingdom. It also shows when the idea of becoming king begins to form in his head, as he thinks it's the only way he could be considered worth something. I think he has some kind of inferiority complex and he compensates it by seeking power. But now that this goal can't be fulfilled anymore, he needs to hung up to another one, and that's taking revenge on Elsa. This chapter is also important as it shows that he could just stop here, in this village, and live with this old lady (which considers him like his son, and I think she's also some kind of a motherly figure to him) but he just keeps on making bad choices because he's completely messed up (due to his childhood and how his brothers treated him).**_

_**I think you've all guessed that my purpose here is to redeem Hans, that's why I don't depict him as a villain who takes pleasure in manipulating people. He manipulates people because he thinks he has to in order to survive, in order to be someone.**_

_**Next chapter, Hans and Elsa will finally meet! Yeah I know I've kept you waiting, but I needed to explain why Hans turned out the way he is, and especially to deal with Elsa's state of mind (see previous chapter) because it'll be important afterward.**_

_**As always, THANK YOU guys for taking time to read my story, and for those who are following me and reviewing. Reviews make me happy :)**_


	5. Revenge

**CHAPTER IV : REVENGE**

The sound of the hoofs was muffled by the thick white snow covering the ground of the Kingdom. The horse carrying Hans was galloping at full speed under the pale white sky. He had left the town of Granä several days ago and had crossed the sea on a boat which had brought him to the port of Arendelle. Now, it was only a matter of minutes before it'd reach the castle of the Snow Queen. He hopefully had kept in mind the layout of the castle from last time he came here. He had thought about a few strategies when he was aboard the boat even though he had been suffering from a cold, and he knew pretty much where the guards were standing and which part of the castle was less monitored. Of course he had to avoid the main entrance if he didn't want to end up caught.

He arrived in front of a wall. Hans dismounted and lead the horse by its bridle right behind him as he had to climb the wall. He let out of the bridle and stepped back to evaluate the height of the wall before coming back to the horse and pulling out of the bags it carried a rope whose end was a hook. This should make it. He threw up the hook as high as he could which clanged to the wall. He took a few moments to look around him to check if anyone had spotted him. The lookout tower just above him seemed thankfully unoccupied, so he began to climb the wall.

He found himself in the middle of the courtyard. Last time he had set foot here, a fountain was frozen and the stairs in front of the main door were covered in sharp threatening ice spikes. Otherwise, it was filled with snow, just like today. He noticed however something different in the scenery, something that wasn't there last time: a gazebo entirely made out of ice. It reminded him of the gazebo of the mansion where he loved to go at a time of his life. It truly was magnificent. The transparency of the ice allowed extraordinary plays of colors changing according to the light that reflected through it, and the decorative details were executed so well that it almost seemed unreal. Hans was overwhelmed by such beauty. He might have hated the Queen of Arendelle, he had to confess her powers created wonders.

As he was lingering to admire the ice gazebo, he heard light footsteps behind him. He turned back to see a guard looking surprised to see a stranger within the castle. Hans took advantage of those few seconds of distraction from the guard to attack him and pick up his sword. Once the weapon in hand, the prince had the edge over him. He knocked him down so that he wouldn't be able to warn his mates before he was done. His encounter with a royal guard had been helpful; a sword would always come in handy especially when thinking of killing someone.

* * *

Avoiding carefully the servants of the castle who were too busy anyway performing the tasks they were given to notice him, Hans looked over all the rooms of the ground and first floors; they were all unoccupied. However, there was still one left to check out down the hall before going to the second floor. The more he walked, the more he could distinguish light sounds coming from this room. Another servant?

Hans gently pushed the door of the library open. He saw her, at the back of the room. She was turning her back on him, hopping as she was desperately trying to grab a book on a high shelf. She was wearing a light blue dress, fitted at her waist, and whose skirts fluttered every hop she made. Her long blond hair was in a neglected bun, few strands falling gracefully on the nape of her neck.

Hans slowly moved forward, without a sound. For some reason all the rage he had felt toward her throughout his journey dissipated at the sight of her. As she was turning round to take a stool, she saw him, blenched and instinctively stepped back in surprise and fright. Her elbow hit the library standing behind her and some books fell down to the ground.

"Prince Hans!" she gasped. Her voice was abnormally high-pitched, revealing her fearful feelings. She noticed it for she pursued in an authoritarian tone: "what are you doing here? Who gave you permission to enter?"

Hans didn't answer right away. Instead, he took a few more steps forward. Elsa tried to back away but she couldn't.

"For your information, Your Majesty, I'm not a _prince_ anymore…" he said hoarsely, trying to revive the hatred he _had_ to feel toward this woman.

The young man had changed little – he was still handsome, though wan – and, even though he seemed thinner and his hair was a bit longer than the last time Elsa saw him, the only significant change was on his face: he was emotionless, had dark circles under his eyes and looked extremely tired. She couldn't discern what he wanted. "What are you doing here?" she asked again.

"I'm taking my revenge," he answered simply. He slowly stepped forward, stopping before the desk on his right where were laid a few books. He took one in his hands and stroked the leather binding while he added: "mind you, I've been banished from my Kingdom. I no longer have any title…"

The Queen glared at him, flabbergasted. "So… You think that taking revenge on me will bring you back your _titles_?" she asked him, half incredulous. What a shallow man, she thought.

The prince got rid of the book throwing it back over the desk. His green eyes frowning at her, he seemed angry and threatening. "Don't you understand?" he retorted with a voice so loud it made the Queen blench again, "they've sentenced me to oblivion! I do no longer exist! My punishment is worse than death!" Tears of frustration began to run down his cheeks. Hans hadn't cried since he's been imprisoned, but he was now feeling like his nerves were snapping. He was just tired; still recovering from his cold; infuriated; and humiliated. He just wanted to get it over with. His eyes were burning with anger. He was scary. Elsa tried to think about a way out of this situation. She was observing his every trait to know how to react consequently and, to her brief relief, she saw him regain his composure. "Don't be mad at me, Your Majesty," he continued with a voice now much quieter, "but I _have_ to eliminate you."

With these words, he pulled his sword out of its sheath, and fastly walked toward the Queen who was still trying to reason with him, her arms outstretched as if to shield herself: "Hans! Wait! You _can't_ do this! You're no murderer!"

Hans paused to process what she'd just told him with a shifty look. He seemed like he was thinking, but he finally said: "no, I'm not. Yet I was judged as such!" He was right before her, looking determined, his sword pointed to her heart.

Elsa was tempted to call the guards of the castle but she feared it would just make things worse. She rather preferred to reason with him; he was a clever man, he wouldn't do an impulse move. Either way, she could handle it all by herself if it became too dangerous; she had her powers. "Remember, six months ago, I was about to _kill_ two men in my ice castle, but you stopped me from doing so. Hans, you prevented me from making a giant mistake." Elsa was genuinely meaning what she was saying. If Hans hadn't intervened she would have had their blood on her hands. She owed him that much; he prevented her from becoming a killer. "So I'm telling you now what you told me back then: don't be the monster they fear you are."

The man standing before her seemed lost; he was hesitant to strike her lethally. His deep green eyes – filled with spite not so long ago – seemed now to cry out for help. She felt like she was succeeding in reasoning with him.

"Hans, please, don't make this mistake," she continued with a soft and calm voice. "Anna had forgiven your behavior toward her. If she could to do it, I'm sure your brothers can as well. Ask them to revise the judgment?" She was putting on the most genuine and warm smile she could do but, much to her stupefaction, she saw his face change from hesitation to surprise, and then to hatred. Perhaps was it a bad idea to bring along Anna and his brothers to the conversation.

Hans replied: "my brothers won't ever revise their judgment. They dealt with me like they would deal with an outcast. It looked like they were judging me by the fact I was alive more than by what I've done here." He paused again as to consider something. "If only I had met _you_ before I met your sister, I'd be king at present, and they'd have finally respected me."

"Hans. Do you really mean what you're saying?"

Hans looked straight into her eyes, his own eyes wide open, his mouth ajar. He looked like he wanted to say something, but he didn't say a word. Did he really mean what he'd just said? Although he frankly doubted his brothers would have respected him once he would have been king, he couldn't deny it would have provided him self-satisfaction to know they'd have to take him into consideration by hook or by crook. And yes, he would have preferred meeting Elsa first not only for the smooth running of his scheme, but also because he had had this feeling – when talking to her a few months ago – that they would have gotten along very well, and that he could have enjoyed spending some time with her. Indeed, what he had in mind when coming to Arendelle the first time was to _marry_ Elsa, not to _kill_ her. He only did come up with that last idea much later, when he came to the realization that it was the only way left for him to rule this Kingdom. As he thought about this, he was literally drowning in her eyes as light as ice, so clear, so fragile, so filled with fears, and yet so serene. Why wasn't he finishing her off? She was at his mercy, without defense, and it seemed like no one had noticed his presence here yet. It was the perfect time.

Elsa held her breath. It seemed like her question had troubled him deep inside. She felt the sword slightly getting away from her chest. Did she manage to change his mind? In that case, what would happen next? Should she call the guards and have him locked in the dungeon? Or should she send him back to deal with his brothers again? No, this last idea seemed to her far too unfair if what he did say about them was true. As she was observing his face, she noticed he had slight freckles on his cheeks. She'd never noticed it before. God, what was she thinking about at a time like this? The man standing before her wanted to kill her, again. Only, this time, she didn't want to die.

She looked as lost as he was, none of them daring to move. After a long moment of reciprocal silence that seemed like forever, they heard the door bursting open and saw Anna rushing in, stating with a loud voice: "Elsa! I can't find my-"

The princess stopped short seeing Hans pointing his sword to her sister. Things went fast: Anna let out a shrill shout that alarmed the whole castle; Hans came to his senses and, turning back to Elsa, he tried to stab her with his sword, but she created a shield of ice which averted away his move; Anna had just enough time to pick up a book from the desk beside her to throw it at the prince – but the book landed more than twenty inches away from him – before her sister grabbed her wrist and rushed out of the room with her.

* * *

The two young women ran through the long corridors, getting up and down the stairs in hope of outdistancing Hans who was running after them. He still had his sword and was already beginning to catch them up. That's when Kristoff barged in at the turn of a corridor. He had heard Anna screaming and had rushed here to check if everything was alright. Sven and Olaf were right beside him.

"Kristoff!" Anna exclaimed and, seeing his questioning glare, added: "it's Hans! Hans is here!"

"What?" Kristoff answered while starting to run along the sisters, "what is he doing here?"

"He's pursuing us!" Anna replied.

"He wants to kill me," Elsa added in a low voice.

"Oh!" said a snowman's voice, "he's getting closer!" Olaf was running too, with his head backwards, which allowed him to observe Hans while moving forward. "He runs very fast! Is he running that fast to give us a warm hug?"

"What?" Elsa exclaimed .

"Olaf!" Anna retorted with a hint of disbelief in her voice, "haven't you heard? He wants to kill us!"

"Ahh!" continued Olaf, "in that case, carry on with the race, I'm gonna talk it out with hi-"

"No! _You_ stay with us!" Kristoff ordered grasping the stick standing for his arm and sending him on the head of the reindeer, "Anna, Your Majesty, mount up on Sven, you'll go faster. _I'm_ gonna hold him back from you."

"Kristoff!" Anna exclaimed, worried.

"Don't worry, Anna. I'll be fine. Hurry up!"

Elsa and Anna got on the reindeer and quickly trotted away. Kristoff then turned away and walked toward the prince grabbing on his way a sword hanging on the wall for decoration. Hans, seeing Kristoff moving forward, stopped and prepared to fight. He only had a slight idea of who the blonde man was having noticed him before alongside Anna, just before she'd punched him in the face – a punch so tough it nearly broke his nose – but he had no idea about how good he was as an opponent. He thus prudently walked toward Kristoff while telling him: "let me through, mate. I have no time to waste with you."

"No way." Kristoff didn't move an inch from where he stood. He wouldn't let him through. "I know that you want to kill the Queen!"

The prince sighed. "Very well. If there is no other way then…" Hans charged first, making the blonde man step back. Kristoff tried the best he could to dodge or counteract his attacks, but he had to acknowledge the prince was skilled and wielded the sword much better than he was. On the other hand, he himself never had training, so he thought he was doing quite well.

Kristoff tried to attack him with all his might, but the prince was leading the field and, with a rather clever move, he got rid of his opponent mopping the floor with him. Hans took his sword from his hands and threw it over the balcony so that it landed on the stairs below. The blonde man, on all fours, tried to stand up but Hans was faster and he knocked him unconscious with the handle of his sword by beating the nape of his neck. He left him there, lying on the ground, and got away looking for the sisters.

* * *

**_Author's note: Thank you so much guys for your support! I'm so happy you like the story, really!_******

**_Olaf sends you all warm hugs! :D_**


	6. Elsa and her powers

**CHAPTER V : ELSA AND HER POWERS**

Sven continued his frantic race throughout the castle. It was heading to the front door so fast that, when getting down the stairs leading to the first floor, it tripped, causing Elsa and Anna – as well as the snowman – to fall down. Anna tried to get the reindeer back on its hoofs, but it would just tangle up its hoofs in the long carpet that covered the floor and the stairs, thus tripping over again. Then, the women saw Hans running and getting closer.

"Anna, go away," Elsa exclaimed, "I got this." She could handle Hans by herself.

But her sister refused and retorted: "no, Elsa. I'm staying with you."

Elsa didn't get the time to debate with her about it for Hans had caught them up. He stopped few yards away to catch his breath before speaking to Anna: "Anna, you look fine."

The princess couldn't determine if he was either asking a question or just making a comment. She was mad at him because he was trying to kill them both once again. "Aren't you done trying to kill us? I thought you had learnt your lesson from last time!"

"You're not my target today, so don't stand in my way," he said quietly.

"Make me!" Anna shouted.

Hans sighed in exasperation and walked toward Anna, but Olaf blocked his way.

"Hi Hans!" The snowman turned to the sisters and said: "go away while I distract him." He turned back to Hans and paid him a compliment: "oooh! You're wearing new clothes! I loooooooove the colors!"

The prince observed the snowman for a moment, literally puzzled, before turning his head to the sisters and asking them: "is he serious?"

"Oh course I am!" The little snowman watched the prince suspiciously. "I've never been that serious in my entire life! Oh! Anna! Elsa! Look! I've got a serious look!" he exclaimed joyfully, contorting his face.

"Olaf! Run!" Elsa cried as she saw Hans about to strike him with his sword in order to get him out of his way.

"What?" Olaf exclaimed while turning back to see Hans dangerously lowering his sword toward him.

The snowman dodged the sword and sheltered behind Sven still unable to get up. In the meanwhile, Anna had picked up all the things she could find within easy reach and started to throw them at Hans. He narrowly avoided a flower vase and managed to deflect a candlestick with the blade of his sword. Elsa, watching her sister running out of projectiles, launched a few attacks with her powers against him. He dodged them all until he slipped on ice and stumbled. The Queen took this opportunity to tell Anna to leave because she was afraid of inadvertently hurting her with her powers. Anna reluctantly accepted and went away. She took Olaf and Sven with her but she didn't go any further than in the adjacent room.

Hans stood up and watched Anna leave before looking back at the Queen. He said to her: "I notice you've learned to control your powers. But it won't be enough to defeat me."

He picked up his sword and tried to attack her. She struck back with powerful ice attacks but Hans just managed to dodge them and tried to get as close as possible to the Queen to attain her with his sword. The room was filling up with chunks of ice strewing all over the floor, which forced them to pay attention to where they were putting their feet.

* * *

The fight went on this way for a while until Elsa seized the opportunity of the prince being careless for a moment to surround him with spikes of ice, thus immobilizing him.

"You look so lovely in your cage, my dear Hans!" she said laughing delightfully, a hand covering her mouth. Hans turned round within his icy prison to found a way out, but there wasn't. Luckily, the ice spikes weren't too high, coming up to his chest level. He thus took his sword with both his hands and hit the ice with sharp strikes to break it. He managed to quickly free himself and prepared to attack once again.

Before the Queen could strike back, he rushed to her and pulled her against the wall, the blade against her throat. "This is the end, Your Majesty," he said quietly.

"I don't think so," she replied hitting violently his ribcage. Hans howled as he cringed in pain, and Elsa escaped from him, running as far as possible. She frequently turned her head back to see how far the prince was from her. She saw him stand back up and begin to run after her. Suddenly, as she was approaching the stairs leading to the ground floor, she slipped on ice and found herself laying on her back on the ground, at his mercy. Without a second thought, he sank the blade of his sword in her left shoulder. He aimed for the heart but Elsa had moved at the last moment making him miss the strike. She yelled in pain as he removed his sword from her shoulder to give it another shot.

He was about to strike again when Anna intervened. She grabbed his right wrist to make him let go of his weapon and, as he turned to her, she bit his forearm and he growled. His sword fell down on the ground but he pulled Anna away with his left arm. The princess landed sprawling on the floor and, as she saw him coming closer to her, she whispered to herself "ouch ouch ouch ouch ouch" while frantically glancing around her, looking for anything lying around she could convert into a weapon.

"Anna!"

Kristoff arrived, fully awake, and started a hand-to-hand combat with a disarmed Hans. Anna stayed where she was a moment, watching the two men giving punches to one another. Things seemed to occur far too fast for her and she was still processing.

In the meantime, Elsa, her left shoulder bleeding, tried to get up. However, once up, and because of her losing a rather large amount of blood, everything went black for a split second and she fell down the stairs, spraining her ankle during her fall. She regained consciousness moments later and looked behind her: she'd just frozen the stairs and they literally seemed like a giant slide. She decided to get as far as possible from here and started to crawl painfully toward the front door.

* * *

The two men kept going on fighting and, this time, it was Kristoff who had the upper hand on his opponent. He punched Hans on the face, causing his nose to bleed. The prince tried to strike back but the blonde man dodged his attack.

Anna had come out of her torpor and had looked for Elsa everywhere. Not finding her, she went to the next room where Olaf and Sven where planning something to get rid of Hans. Olaf offered Anna to help them. "Anna! Anna! I'm glad you're fine," he gave her a warm hug and added: "Sven and I had an idea. But we need your help". Anna nodded, encouraging him to go on.

He explained to her what was the trap they intended to set for the prince: Olaf would be thrown – armed with pans – at Hans so that he could hit him in the head and get him dizzy enough for them all to run away. They would use Sven as a catapult and Anna had to aim. They quickly get what they needed and put their plan into action.

"Come on, Anna, do it. This is the right time. They're so busy fighting that they didn't notice us," Olaf whispered.

"You ready?" Anna asked.

"Yeah, let's go."

Anna aimed at Hans, carefully repositioning the reindeer several times beside the stairs. When she felt ready, she triggered the mechanism which hurled away Olaf like a rocket landing directly on… Kristoff. The blonde man received Olaf right in the head, causing him to stumble and instantly pass away. Olaf's carrot-nose and the pans fluttered a few yards away. Hans slowly and painfully stood up, covering his achy bleeding nose and jaw with his hands before glaring at his opponent lying on the floor.

"Oh! What have I done? What have I done?" was distraughtly crying Olaf. "Kristoff! Wake up Kristoff!"

Then, the prince looked at the place where the snowman came from and saw Anna, unsettled by the launching force, wavering dangerously before sliding down the frozen stairs while sitting on her butt. Sven tried to catch her but she slid all the way down and spun around, still sitting on ice, unable to stop.

Hans grabbed his sword and looked around him: they were all in bad shape. He took this opportunity to go find the Queen who seemed to have disappeared. He took a look at the floor and saw blood leading toward the front door and beyond. He slid down the slide carefully maintaining his balance not to fall, and went out of the castle. It was night, but he still could manage to perceive the red bloodstains left by her on the white snow.

He followed the bloodstains until the entrance of the surrounding forest. There, under a tree, was the Queen lying and heavily breathing. Hans pulled out his sword and walked slowly toward her. Elsa noticed him and tried to throw him an attack but, much to her astonishment, nothing happened. She tried again, and again, but not a snowflake, not a lump of ice came out of her hands. Scared, she continued to move her hands toward the prince, but in vain.

Hans, who had been expecting an ice attack from the Queen, got on a guarding position, and he looked as shocked as Elsa when he saw she seemed to have lost her powers. This was his chance. He stepped forward and raised his sword. Elsa, seeing her last hour coming, curled up and closed her eyes, waiting for the fatal strike. But, Hans didn't move. He had heard a noise somewhere on his left. He scanned the dark forest as well as he could to see where that noise did come from. That's when he saw a red fox emerging from a bush and staring for a moment at him with his bright eyes before fleeing.

Hans seemed troubled for a few seconds. He looked back at Elsa who had raised her head, wondering why she was still alive. Instead of finish her off with the sword, he just pulled it back into the sheath. He had just remembered that stupid hunting party Nielsen had told him about, and he wondered if he didn't try to send him a subliminal message back then. After all, his behavior at the castle these last few years had seemed very suspicious and Nielsen was exactly the kind of man to attempt a coup against his brothers. Maybe this was a message from heavens telling him his time to shine has finally come, that all of this has been a test and life will finally reward him. He _had_ to at least give it chance. "You're lucky Your Majesty. You've just become to me worth more alive than dead," he said, repeating the sentence of the Vice Counselor.

Elsa glared at him with a confused look. He'd just put the sword back into its sheath and he intended to keep her alive. What for? She felt a mixed feeling of relief and apprehension for she had no idea what was going on, let alone what would happen to her.

Hans helped Elsa to get up but the pain hurt so much tears were beginning to fall from her eyes. After a few failed attempts to try to get her on her feet, he ended up seating her back on the floor again, besides the tree, and told her: "wait here, I'm coming right back."

Indeed, he returned a few moments later with a horse. Elsa didn't even try to escape during his brief absence because her two injuries – one on the shoulder, the other one on her ankle – made her suffer too much. However, she did try to use her powers again but they just didn't operate anymore. No doubt this was due to her condition.

Hans grabbed Elsa by her waist and settled her on the horse before mounting himself right behind her. They headed to the Southern Isles where – Hans was sure – Nielsen had a plan to get rid of his brothers and take their place.

* * *

**_Author's note: Hi everyone! Thanks for the support! I really appreciate it :)_**

**_So here's an other action chapter. I hope you liked it. I tried to remain within the spirit of the movie which contains a lot of actions considering it, and also a lot of humorous situations as well as dark themes._**

**_I'm so sorry for hurting Kristoff again, I know how much you like him. I'm sorry..._**

**__****_Also, I think Hans's nose being punched will become a regular theme in this story ^^_**

**_This chapter is also the end of the first arc of the story, and the second arc will begin with next chapter. Until then, warm hugs!_**


	7. Let's stop here

**CHAPTER VI : LET'S STOP HERE**

Elsa had lost her powers, it was obvious. And, as they were galloping toward Arendelle's harbor at breakneck speed, Hans noticed the landscapes around them were changing. The snow covering the trees was melting, the frozen water of the fjord was beginning to crack, and the snowflakes falling from the sky were thinner and weaker. And he was starting to be hot. Was it due to the physical effort he'd just provided? He waited until they reached the harbor to take off his coat for he was sweating.

He walked over to the first man he saw and said with a friendly tone: "tell me, mister, is there a boat going to the Southern Isles?"

The old man stared at the stranger, then at the horse and at what was on the horse. Hans had carefully covered the Queen with his coat so that no one could recognize her. The old man found Hans suspicious: his nose was bleeding and the person on the horse seemed in bad shape and threatened to fall down at any moment. But it wasn't the first time a strange man came here. That kind of person usually wanted to disappear, at any costs. He stretched his hand out to Hans and looked like he was expecting something. The prince instantly understood and placed three gold coins in the palm of the man's hand. "_The Swordfish_ stops over the Southern Isles. It's that boat over there, the black and blue one," he finally answered pointing out at a boat behind him. Hans thanked him and lead the horse toward the boat. After talking with the captain, having paid him properly and handed him the horse so that it could be along with the other animals on the boat, he got on the ship carrying Elsa in his arms. Her wound was bleeding badly and she had lost consciousness. He entered the cabin he had paid for and laid her down on the bed. The ship would be leaving at dawn. Just one more hour left.

* * *

When Elsa awoke, she saw only blurred shapes around her. She felt dizzy. Her body was aching. She regained consciousness gradually and attempted to move only to be stopped by a sharp pain in the shoulder. She winced and moaned in pain.

"Ah, you're awake…"

It was a familiar voice. Faces rushed through her mind trying to remember whose voice it was, but none matched it. She slowly turned her head in its direction. A young man whom she couldn't see the features yet was standing in front of her. Lovely face, auburn hair, beautiful green eyes… Hans. She suddenly remembered everything: he attacked her, tried to kill her, but then he spared her life.

Panicking, she looked frantically around her; she obviously wasn't in her castle anymore. Did he abduct her? She looked at her wound; it was covered with a wet cloth. Hans certainly saw her wondering gaze for he said: "I took the liberty of cleaning your wound. I haven't found any doctor on board, so I did what I could."

"On board?" She could hardly ingest the information for she was feeling too weak.

"Yes," Hans replied, "this ship is taking us to the Southern Isles. But don't worry, the journey only last four days, and you've already spent three sleeping."

She slept for three days. No wonder she was feeling so numb. "There is no doctor?" she asked.

"No," Hans replied in a reassuring voice, "but I managed to find some bandages."

Elsa attempted to sit up again but miserably failed to do so. Her shoulder hurt so much. Hans came closer to her and helped her sit up on the bed. He noticed her wincing in pain. She took off the cloth from her shoulder and stared at her wound. It was red even if it stopped bleeding, and it hadn't started to heal even though there were some kinds of whitish pus on it.

"It might get infected," she said to herself more than to Hans but still she was scowling at him. "Why haven't you bandaged my wound?" All of the contempt she had felt for him until now rushed to the surface. Did he spare her life just to see her die a long and painful death? To let her agonize while her body irremediably rots? She wouldn't have wished even her worst enemy to die that kind of death.

Hans's eyes wide opened as he looked puzzled for a moment. "Well… I couldn't just bandage your wounds while you were asleep…"

She now had a headache, the pain only increasing and worsening with every word she pronounced. "You could have," she replied though, "it is quite possible to do." She seemed really upset, her jaw tightening as she spoke, and hurt for she couldn't believe he was that evil.

Hans couldn't determine if what was putting her in this shape was the hatred she felt toward him or just the pain. He pursued, troubled: "a shoulder bandage requires that…," he stopped a moment, "well…" He seemed like he was unable to find a word to say, but he finally stammered: "you're a woman… I couldn't just have behaved as impudent as to… without your consent…"

His speech, quite disjointed and hesitant, left Elsa speechless. But she had understood what his point was. "I see," she said weakly, "in that case, I give you my consent". She didn't have the time right now to worry about propriety and morality while she was suffering terribly.

Hans nodded in acquiescence and turned to the table just behind him where were placed bandages, clean clothes and a bottle. He took them all and walked over Elsa, handing her the bottle.

"What is it?" she asked while observing the strange light brown colored liquid the glass bottle contained.

"Akvavit," he replied casually. "It'll help with the pain."

Without a second thought, she took the bottle Hans handed her and drunk straight from the bottle six or seven gulps. Hans was watching her, surprised, but didn't say a word. She handed back the bottle to him while he took a clean cloth to soak it with alcohol. He sat before her on the ledge of the bed and, after a few seconds of hesitation, pulled down the lace ramp of her dress to expose the wound. He cleaned and disinfected it with water and Akvavit before applying a clean dry cloth he carefully folded on it. He stood up and moved behind her. She put her hair in front. He resumed the cleaning at the back of her shoulder for the wound was deep; the sword had pierced through her shoulder.

After putting on the cloth, he shyly unbuttoned her dress until it felt down to her waist, revealing a completely naked back. Hans couldn't move. He had never done this before and he had to admit he was a little scared. Of course, all princes had to learn certain kind of things, but it happened generally with a servant in her sixties, or at least that's what happened to him and all of his brothers, and probably even to their father and their uncle before them. Was there really no doctor on this bloody ship? He already had treated injuries before, but that was different. His heart was beating much too fast to his liking and his hands were trembling. No matter how much he hated her, he was slowly realizing that Elsa was undoubtfully the most beautiful creature he had ever met in his entire life. And, unfortunately, he couldn't just remain unmoved.

Elsa was feeling quite the same; she couldn't even dare to breathe. Why again did she allowed him to treat her wound? The intense pain she felt was nothing compared to the sheepishness she was struggling with. Never a man – other than her own father when she was a child – had ever touched her. A hand-kissing was as far as she had ever allowed, and she had her gloves on. Her physical contact with other people had always been _extremely_ restrained because of her powers. She hadn't even allowed Gerda, her own personal caretaker, to bath or dress her for she was always afraid to hurt someone. But she wouldn't have thought she'd have her cheeks burning so intensely because of some light touches. She could feel his fingers moving downward her spine as he undid each and every buttons of her dress. And it reminded her of her disgraceful dreams. Her heartbeat was racing fast and loud, and she was sure he could hear it. She hated herself for feeling these kinds of feelings, especially when they were felt toward a man who tried to kill her and her sister. Pain, shame, anger, fear and alcohol didn't go well together inside her head. She was feeling dizzy. She could hardly breathe. She would faint for sure.

'Don't feel. Pull yourself together' Hans kept repeating to himself. The Queen was just a prisoner; she was just a _pawn_ in his chess so that he could become king. And this pawn would be worth nothing if it died before arriving to the Southern Isles. Feelings only made him weak. He had learned at young age not to feel, to always be calculating, not to let other people play with his heart. His heart had become as cold as ice. The prince got it over with and quickly finished off bandaging her before helping the Queen put her dress back on and button it up. Finally, he made her a scarf bandage to immobilize her arm, thus facilitating healing.

"There's the ankle left," he said in a perfectly neutral tone.

How did he know for her ankle? Elsa painfully laid down on the bed and turned her head toward the wall to avoid meeting his eyes. She really wasn't feeling fine. She shouldn't have drunk that much alcohol without having eaten before. Her cheeks were scarlet and she could feel them burn gently. She was so ashamed. "I'll take care of it myself. Later," she faintly replied.

"As you wish," Hans assented. A sprained ankle was painful but not lethal. He could let her deal with it. He put the necessary equipment on the table beside the bed and left the cabin, leaving her alone. He _needed_ some fresh air.

Elsa waited a few moments before trying to sit up. One thing was certain: she won't be able to use her left arm before a long time. Once she was sit, leaning against the headboard, she pulled away the blanket to reveal her sprained ankle. It was abnormally swollen. Alcohol was impacting on her as she was so dizzy she was feeling almost nothing. She ventured to take a bandage on the table to apply it on her ankle. How much time did she spend to mummify her ankle so badly? She had no idea. What she was certain of, however, was that it looked like anything but a proper bandage, that it would surely be ineffective, and that the bed had suddenly become hard.

The door opened and Hans came in, a full meal tray in his arms. When he saw Elsa, he cried out a "oh boy!" in fright. The young woman had fallen off the bed and was struggling to straighten up, or even to breathe. He left the tray behind and, rushing to her, knelt before her. She slightly raised her head. Why was she looking at him with those frightened eyes? He _wouldn't_ be able to hate her anymore if she continued to stare at him this way.

"I've brought something for you to eat. You'll feel better," he said avoiding her gaze at all costs. He took her in his arms but Elsa burst in tears for no reason and kept telling him "I'm not feeling fine". How was he supposed to react to that? He had always been the one in need of comfort and no one had ever provided it to him. How was he supposed to provide comfort to someone else? "Your Majesty, if you could just make one last effort, please," he whispered in her ear. He couldn't guess if she had understood him but she waved her head. He lifted her up despite her screams of pain and gently placed her on the bed in a sitting position. Then, he took the meal tray and brought it to her. He made her eat the dishes even though she kept retorting she wasn't hungry, and made her drink a lot of water. Once she seemed calmed down and started to fall asleep, he bandaged her ankle properly and watched over her all night.

* * *

The ship landed at the Southern Isles the day after in the afternoon. Hans took back the horse and painfully settled her on it before mounting himself. They continued their frantic race to the capital of the Kingdom which was fortunately only a few days away on horseback. Leaving the ship, he had noticed the weather had changed abruptly and radically. The snowy landscape he'd left just a few days ago did no longer exist. There was no more snow, anywhere at all. He had been shocked by the high temperatures and he instinctively looked at Elsa for he knew what she was capable of doing. Were her powers without any limit at all? He was convinced her bad physical condition was the cause of this sudden climate change.

The more he galloped, the more he saw her weakening. They made regular stops in order to be able to drink and eat, and to let the horse rest. Two more days at that rate and they would arrive to his castle. However, Elsa was getting worse, and the blazing sun and the scorching heat certainly did not help. She couldn't stop fainting and vomiting. Fortunately, they arrived in a village that seemed isolated. "Let's stop here," Hans just said. They entered the village and he asked the first person he saw where to find a doctor. He was told an alley not so far away, and that's where he carried Elsa.

The doctor sutured her wound and lent her a crutch. He told her she had been lucky enough the blade had touched no cartilage, the wound had been cleaned in time, the bandages had been applied properly, and that the tissue injury could have been worse. According to him, it should only be a matter of some months for her shoulder and a few weeks for her ankle. Elsa smiled sadly. The doctor then went to Hans and told him she was very weak and needed complete rest, especially because she suffered sunstroke. He advised him to find a cool place to rest – especially with this mad weather – and to make her drink regularly.

Hans then helped her get out of the doctor's office and walk in the street. He had noticed an inn back when they had entered into the village and he inquired about the price. It wasn't expensive and the innkeeper – a sympathetic big woman – didn't seem the kind of woman to poke her nose into other people's business. They would rent a room here until Elsa recovered enough to continue the journey.

The room was modest. It was situated on the first floor of the inn and reachable by stairs. A bed was laid along the wall on the right, a rather large table with chairs was standing under the window, a wardrobe was placed against the wall in the left, and a sofa was installed immediately near the entrance on the left. It was quite a large room for an inn of this size in a village, and it shouldn't bother them, especially when it was just to stay a couple of days.

* * *

The first two days at the inn were horrible. Elsa obstinately kept refusing to drink, eat or even talk. Yet she didn't seem mad at him anymore. She was just sad, resigned, hopeless. She remained lying on the bed, turning her back on him even thought this implied she had to rest on her bruised shoulder. Hans figured that if she kept behaving this way, he would lose his only chance to seize power against his brothers. So he tried to talk to her one more time: "look, I understand you hate on me. I deserve that. But you can't just starve to death this way."

Elsa didn't answer. Hans was beginning to lose his temper. Talking to her using diplomacy obviously wasn't getting him anywhere. Perhaps should he just use force upon her? But it could get even worse and, besides, he wasn't the kind of man to believe he could resolve his problems that way. He thus tried out another way: "what would Anna think of you if she were to see you behaving like this?" He had hoped she would at least react hearing upon the name of her sister, and he was satisfied to see her slowly turning back to face him.

"How dare _you_, of all people, lecturing _me_?" She had been crying for her eyes and her nose were still red. "You just want me to recover quickly so we can go back to travel to your castle. If I don't die here, I'll just die there. Pretty same for me. Or rather, it's even worse. There, I'll just be a slave to your insanity."

Elsa wasn't as dumb as Anna was, but Hans hated when people were able to read his mind as easily and clearly. He felt like he would just lose control over events. He dangerously walked toward her, squinting at her. He was threatening, his face just mere inches away from hers. "You're right. I _need_ you alive. So, do eat already," he ordered with an authoritative voice.

Elsa wasn't frightened at all. She retorted in a low voice for she was still recovering: "so, that's who you really are? A mean and unscrupulous man? Ready to do anything as long as he gets his way? A _heartless_ man?" His face was still close to her and she had spoken looking him right in the eye. Much to her surprise, she saw a brief hint of sadness dimming his green glare as if what she just said had deeply hurt him and, for a moment, she believed she saw the lost boy from the library; the one whose eyes silently cried for help.

But then, his jaw clenched and his nose wrinkled up. He threatened her: "if you haven't eaten the contents of the tray by my return, I will not hesitate to use force upon you," and he left the room, slamming the door.

Elsa listened to him stomping down the stairs. She was alone. She looked at the tray: there were a dish with steak, potatoes and vegetables, another one full of seasoned salad and seafood, white bread, a water jug and a glass, cutlery and a towel. She was surprised he did bring her something that appetizing to eat. She was expecting a simple tiny hunk of brown bread. Was he hoping to gain her trust this way?

She heard noises on the stairs. Was he back already? The door opened after a knock, but it was a woman who came in. She was in her early thirties, big with a lovely face encircled by large blonde curls cascading over her shoulders, and wearing an extravagant dress which contained perhaps more colors than she had ever seen in her whole life. "I hope I'm not disturbing you?" the innkeeper asked. Elsa tried to sit up but yelled in pain. The innkeeper rushed to her: "oh my! That looks bad!" she exclaimed.

Elsa tried to reassure her: "it's nothing, don't worry. I've already seen a doctor." The woman seemed satisfied with what she said and smiled to her. Elsa added: "what can I do for you?"

"Ah yes!" The innkeeper looked like she just remembered the reason why she was here. "I'm here to tell you you need to pay the week. My husband doesn't like it when there're delays of payment. He says it makes his accounting incorrect," she pouted, her hands waving in the air in a caricatured manner. Elsa wanted to laugh. The way she spoke reminded her of Anna. She was as well the kind of woman to keep telling sentences one after the other without allowing the time for their listener to make a connection between each of them. "Anyway, I won't bother you with that. You're in a bad shape. I'll talk to your husband instead when he comes back."

"My… my _husband_?!" Elsa exclaimed, dazed, her eyes blinking quickly.

"Yes, the handsome man who just get down the stairs. He's your husband, right? He told me all about you: how you were on your way to your honeymoon and your stagecoach had been attacked by brigands who stole everything you had, and how you – young lady – you tried to fight back when they took your wedding rings but ended up with an injury in the shoulder made by a dagger; poor thing!"

Elsa was speechless. "He… he told you _that_?"

"Yes, but don't worry. I won't tell anyone. Count on me," she said, winking.

Elsa forced herself to smile seeing the sincere face of the innkeeper. So, he told everyone they were just married and got attacked by brigands? He didn't lack sass. She was so mad at him but, at the same time, she was so shocked that she was finding the situation almost amusing. However, she wouldn't let him get away with that; she would tell the truth to the innkeeper. Maybe, she could help her get out of this situation? But, as she was about to speak, the innkeeper said in a friendly manner: "by the way, my name is Olga. You should eat your dishes. I prepared them myself. It'll give you strength to recover from your injury."

"Thank you. You can call me Elsa," the queen replied. So she was the one to prepare the dishes? She was so very much alike Anna it saddened her to waste the food she spent time to prepare. She thus picked up the cutlery and began eating. Olga, seeing how much she struggled with just one hand, helped her cut the meat.

"Your husband seemed quite upset when he left a while ago. I hope this isn't a quarrel?" she asked, looking concerned about her.

"He's not-," Elsa started but she was interrupted again.

"You know, married life isn't as easy as it seems. People these days tend to believe they just need love. But no. Believe my experience. You need to work out your relationship, take care of it and make concessions. A lot of concessions. No one is perfect. Look, my husband for instance; he grumbles all the time, he is a very greedy man and he's not very talkative. Yeah, he's not very friendly. The absolute opposite of me in fact! People don't like him because of his bad temper, I know it. But to me, he's sweet. Oh my! Don't tell him I said that, ok? Well, whatever, I stayed with him no matter what because I know that deep inside he's a good man and he cares for me. And he stayed with me despite the fact I'm a blabbermouth and that I love sweets. I could eat cakes all day, really! He always get so mad at me because of this and that, because I behave like a child, he says, or because I supposedly spend all of his money to buy me dresses from big cities that doesn't fit a rural village like this one. And it hurts me sometimes when he gets mad at me. Oh my! Here I am to speak speak speak. I must be boring you with my stories!"

"No, not at all," Elsa answered reassuringly, "on the contrary, I am pleased to have some company." She took the water jug, poured water in her glass and drunk it. She was having another idea. "Olga, may I ask you a favor?" she weakly demanded.

"Of course. Tell me," answered the innkeeper with a smile.

"I need to write a letter, but you'll have to keep this a secret." Olga nodded and brought to her a pen and paper. Elsa thanked her and began to write to her sister, telling her Hans's plan about taking her to the castle of the Southern Isles and to go and wait there. Then, she put the letter in the envelope and handed it to Olga, telling her the messenger had to give it to Princess Anna of Arendelle in person.

After Olga left the room, Elsa was left alone again, but not for very long. Someone knocked at the door once again. "Come in," she said. It was Hans. He had his hair cut just like the time he went to Arendelle the first time. Elsa watched him come in, composed anew, and told him in a defiant tone: "well well well, isn't it my dear _husband_ coming back?" She had laid stress on the word 'husband' in order to let him know she learned about his lies.

Hans stared at her, genuinely surprised. "How…?"

Elsa stared at him majestically. "The innkeeper came here for payment of the week. She told me everything."

Hans closed his eyes for a moment, a smirk drawing on his lips. No need to lie to her, he thought; she already knew _who_ he was. "I thought it'd be better this way." He poured himself a glass of water while still speaking. "A young couple of foreigners who rent a room in an inn is noticeable enough, not to mention if they're not even married." He paused to take a sip of water. "People speak, and the spreading of information quickly becomes uncontrollable. If there's a rumor about me returning to the Southern Isles whereas I'm banned from here, I might be dismembered according to the law. I'm sure you will understand that I'm not really feeling like drawing attention on me right now."

She understood indeed. Her kingdom didn't use that kind of punishment anymore, be she heard about kingdoms that still did. She said nothing more. Hans noticed she had eaten her meal and he cleared the tray without commenting, though he left the water jug near her. The doctor said she had to drink a lot. "Are you feeling better?" he asked. He sounded like he was concerned about her, yet Elsa remained silent. Hans sighed. Were they still playing to this little game? He pulled out from his pocket a purse and counted the coins. He was going to pay the innkeeper.

"Are these coins from my Kingdom?!" Elsa shouted, seeing her profile engraved on each coin, "where did you get them?"

Hans turned his head to her. She looked delightfully confused. He smirked at her. "I have _borrowed_ them from Her Majesty the Queen of Arendelle," he replied in an arrogant tone. Then, seeing her eyes hardened and her eyebrows frown, he added, as to justify himself: "I told you. I have nothing anymore."

* * *

**_Author's note: Hi guys! I hope you liked this chapter :)_**

**_Concerning last chapter, yes, Elsa didn't give her all in the battle. I think she didn't want to hurt him and she didn't want to find herself in the same situation as she was in her ice castle in the movie, about to kill 2 men._**

**_Then, excuse the inaccuracies about the treatment of the injuries if there is any because I'm not a doctor and even though I made some researches, there might be some errors... But I thought it was about time to give Hans and Elsa a sexy scene... Hans hasn't that much experience with women, has he? Well, he's a Disney character after all…_**

**_Last thing, the fact that Elsa doesn't wear a corset isn't an omission. It's just that in the movie she doesn't seem to wear one, so I did the same here._**

**_And of course, thanks for the reviews :3_**


	8. Lonely people

**CHAPTER VII : LONELY PEOPLE**

Her sister disappeared more than a week ago. It seemed like she just couldn't be found since Hans's attack. Anna had ordered to all of the guards of the castle to look for their Queen in all Arendelle and even in the neighboring forest. Even the people had been involved in the search as a great amount of money had been promised to anyone providing useful information. But nothing. No sign of Elsa anywhere. Anna herself went out in search of her sister in the mountains with Kristoff and Sven. The only thing she found was snow beginning to melt down. Even Hans was nowhere to be found.

Fortunately, as hopes of finding her were beginning to weaken, a letter arrived from Elsa herself. Anna was relieved to know her sister was safe and sound. She wrote that Hans had abducted her with the idea of taking her to the castle of the Southern Isles, so Anna called Kristoff, telling him that they would leave at dawn to go to the Southern Isles, but that journey had to remain secret for the moment. Thus, she didn't notify the staff about the real purpose of their sudden trip.

* * *

Elsa could walk again. Of course, she tried not to push on her ankle too much, but she now could get out of this room which was beginning to smell musty, especially since Hans kept the window closed 'not to let heat in', as he said. He had helped her to gradually walk again, supporting her in the beginning, then staying at her side to catch her in case she fell. Her shoulder wound was also on the road to recovery. Hans changed regularly her bandages until she needed them no more for her open wound had turned into a clot, still needing however a scarf bandage to immobilize her arm. She let him do so. Maybe because she couldn't do it herself; or maybe because feeling his hands brushing briefly her skin provided her with warmth, and it wasn't embarrassing anymore; because he was soft and reassuring. Because he wasn't that murderous man anymore. For an unknown reason, she enjoyed the way he cared about her; the way he had been taking care of her for an entire month.

After the "husband episode", she had relapsed badly; her condition had worsened because she suffered sunstroke, thus running a fever for more than four days. These four days had been the hottest the villagers could remember. Hans had come back, sweating and hardly breathing, with ice he had purchased in a neighboring town at an exorbitant price and that he had settled all around the bed in hope it will help lowering the temperature in the room and reducing her fever. He had the doctor coming over by force – he didn't want to leave his home because of the heat – and promising him large amounts of money if he did cure her. The doctor had made her drink she didn't even know what kind of greenish concoction tasting bad like hell, but she eventually had gotten better and the temperatures had finally become tolerable. She had thought they would have departured the moment her temperature dropped, but it'd been a month and they were still here, in the inn. And he was still nice to her. Perhaps she had been wrong about him. Perhaps Anna was right. Perhaps he did have a heart after all, and he just needed someone to help him find his way.

She cautiously got down the stairs and stopped by the bar. Olga was there. The innkeeper had always cooked her delicious dishes that had undoubtedly contributed to her recovery. She sat down on one of the stools in front of the bar and talked to her. They used to talk about this and that, about everything and nothing in particular. Olga had become like a friend to Elsa, because she was so much like her sister, though just a little more frivolous. Even though Olga still believed Hans and Elsa were married, Elsa had thought that it'd be unnecessary for her to know the truth, and that it would only result in bringing attention on them. She was afraid of what could happen to Hans if he were to be found here; he would end up being quartered. He had already taken risks of exposure trying to take care of her when she was ill and she had realized she wouldn't forgive herself if he died this way. If he had to die – if he had to pay for his crimes – _she_ would be the one to deal with him on _her_ terms once she recovered her powers.

"Some people behave terrible not just because they're horrible people, but because they have no one to turn to; because they feel lonely and misunderstood. They're like withdrawn into their shell to escape their fears and frustrations to the point they start harming others because they think hurting other people first will prevent them from being hurt. But they may be just a little bit more fragile than others, afraid to love and afraid of what people could do to them," Olga said. Elsa stared blankly at her. She had been so lost in her thoughts that she had forgotten she asked her a question. She wondered about Hans. He had been nothing but kind and caring to her these last weeks. He didn't seem anymore like the man who said to her, looking her straight in the eye: "I _need_ you alive." Perhaps was he just pretending like he pretended to be nice to Anna – perhaps he was being the pretty beguiler only showing people what they wanted to see – but she just couldn't believe it. She _saw _the desperate – the broken – man behind his mask; the one whose eyes had cried for help in the library; the one who had stared at her in sorrow upon hearing the harsh words she said to him.

"Thank you, Olga," she replied, taking a sip of the delicious hot chocolate the innkeeper had prepared for her. They eventually ended up talking about more delightful things. Olga told her it was about time to buy a whole new wardrobe causing Ela to laugh. Well, she was right; she didn't really have the opportunity of changing clothes since she arrived here, and go shopping would definitely allow her to stretch her legs.

Then, Hans arrived. He had gotten out very early this morning on horseback and just came back. Hanging out with the horse certainly was something he really appreciated for he always seemed more lenient afterward. And she couldn't help but to think he somewhat matched Olga's description as she gave him a small smile and he smiled back. She then walked to him and told him she wanted to walk around the village. He simply nodded and led her out.

They went to the village's tailor where Elsa brought new dresses and nightclothes. Hans seized the opportunity to buy some outfits as well. They eventually get out of the shop and headed to the shoemaker. Elsa would need more comfortable shoes because of her ankle if they were to resume the journey, Hans thought.

But as they walked, Elsa noticed people were turning their head to them and looked balefully at them. She was feeling uncomfortable being stared at this way and folded her arms before her as she walked. An old man stared at her as if he'd just seen a monster and she walked faster to catch up on Hans. "Why are they looking at us? Did we do something wrong?" she asked him.

Hans took a moment to look around him before quietly answering: "that's because we're outsiders."

Elsa considered his answer; it made sense. "That's awful!" she exclaimed, offended and frightened at the same time. Hans was walking right beside her and didn't seem to care about the glances the villagers were throwing at him as well. "Wait, how can you casually walk around while they're looking at us like this?" she demanded, curious to know how he could stand it, "aren't you bothered like I am?"

He stopped and turned to look at her, meeting her anxious eyes. "I've been looked at this way all my life. It doesn't bother me anymore," he replied while shrugging his shoulders and resumed walking as if it was no big deal.

Elsa remained speechless as she resumed walking as well, fastening her steps to catch up with him. She felt bad for him, yet she understood him. That was exactly like she'd feared most of her life she would have been perceived by people had they known about her powers. Hopefully, her family had never blamed her for what she was – _she_ had always been the one to blame herself – but she had always feared they would. As a result, she grew up alone, secluding herself from others because she didn't want to hurt them, but clearly, he didn't get that "choice"— if she could call it a choice. She felt sympathy for this man with a past as painful as hers, because she knew how it felt. How it felt to be lonely. She thought back to Olga's words: had he ever had anyone to turn to?

* * *

Another week had gone by and Elsa made sure to walk at least an hour every day even though the weather was still too hot to her liking. Hans would never let her out by herself; he always proposed to accompany her. She would accept, always wondering if he did it to keep an eye on her for he feared she would contact her kingdom behind his back, or just because he was being nice.

That day, they went a little further than usual and walked alongside the riverbank of a river that ran through the village. They had brought along the horse in order to return to the inn more easily if they were tired. They walked by a little boy crying alone under a tree. Hans stopped, went to him, crouched before him and asked him what was wrong. Elsa had moved closer too. She never really had what they call "maternal instinct" but the way the little boy replied made her eyes fill with tears. He had been teased and beaten by his brothers and left here. Hans took him in his arms, settled him on the horse, and led him to his house. There, they didn't find his parents; they worked all day long and didn't come back until it was dark outside. There was only a girl who looked fourteen years old, according to Elsa. She was the elder and took care of her four brothers and sister. She was holding a baby in her arms and seemed overwhelmed with all of the things she had to do. Hans explained to her what had happened with her youngest brother and she called her brothers and asked them to make an apology. As they refused, Hans scolded them. He seemed like he took what happened to the little boy to heart. The girl needed to hang out the laundry and she entrusting Elsa the baby. She entrusted _her_ such a small and fragile creature. She was literally unable to move, trembling as her hands tightened around the baby girl for fear of dropping her. Of hurting her. And she was glad she hadn't recovered her powers yet for it could have scared the baby to feel her usual cold skin. Gaining slowly in confidence, she cautiously sat on a chair and fed her with a baby bottle. Considering it, she liked this kind of feeling. She smiled to the baby girl when she tried to touch her chin with her little fingers. Hans was done scolding the boys who had eventually apologized to their little brother and, stopping at the door, he admired the angelic scene happening before him; the scene with Elsa smiling genuinely and holding a tiny little thing in her arms while singing a lullaby. And her voice was truly beautiful, just like the woman singing. He couldn't help but to smile too.

As they walked back to the inn via the riverbank, he made a comment that deeply troubled her. "You'd be a wonderful mother…" he said to her. He meant it. He was thinking silly things, like how, maybe, if he had had a mother who had smiled at him the way Elsa smiled to the baby girl, he wouldn't have turned to be the way he was now; he wouldn't have felt this ungovernable urge to prove he existed that blindly lead him where he was now, miserable and damned, seeking a position just to show them all he was worth something. Perhaps, he would have actually been _proud_ of himself.

Elsa looked at him as if what he just told her had hurt her. She seemed sad. "What are you saying? I can't have children… I could hurt them with my powers…" Even though she had managed to somewhat control them, she was far from having total control over them. She was always afraid of losing control when her feelings were too intense.

Hans stopped and gently brushed her cheek with his hand. "At least, you're not like me… You've got so much love to give."

Elsa swore she saw tears forming in his green eyes. "Not like you?" she repeated, afraid of what he would answer.

"I don't love," he told her with a small sad smile, "I do things because I know that's what people do. But I don't feel anything." That's how he had been living most of his life. Empty. Pointless. Hopeless. Because he did expect way _too_ much from life, and what life gave him didn't meet his hopes and dreams. No matter how _hard _he tried, no matter to what _extent_ he was willing to go.

This time it was Elsa who had tears filling her eyes. Was he referring to the way he behaved toward her these last weeks? Didn't he really _feel_ anything at all whereas she did? Her heart tightened at the thought as she looked to the floor, disappointed. She suddenly remembered the way she felt when the baby girl was in her arms: she had always thought she never had maternal instinct but, in reality, she actually never _let_ herself have it. At the thought, she pulled herself together, raised her head and, meeting his eyes, she said in her majestic voice: "that's just because you're too _scared_ to love. Just _let go_ of your fears."

Hans looked at her in confusion. "What…?" he exclaimed astoundingly. But, before he could add anything else, the horse accompanying them stepped back for some reason, causing Elsa to stumble. The horse went away, leaving Elsa lying on the grass. Hans, having failed his attempt to catch her while she fell, landed on her. He rose up, leaning on his hands, his arms on either side of Elsa, his face just inches away from hers. He looked embarrassed by the situation and let out a shy "sorry" before trying to get up. But, she grabbed his arm, implicitly commanding him not to move.

Elsa was confused about what she was doing, but her face was dangerously leaning toward Hans's. She could feel his irregular breath on her lips. She could hear his heart beat faster and faster. No, she could _feel_ it. She could see his lips flutter and his green gaze craving her. Without giving it a second thought, she raised her valid arm and leaned his face to hers. Their lips brushed briefly, then parted, just mere inches away. They stared at each other a moment, lost, having no clue about what they were doing, before hesitatingly resuming their kiss. Their lips met again, more feverishly, forming a febrile and passionate kiss, her hand running through his hair as he leaned more toward her. Elsa closed her eyes, loosing herself completely to the caress. This feeling was much too exquisite to stop there. It lasted perhaps a few seconds, unless it was several hours, or an entire day. They had lost track of time for all they cared about was for their lips to never part away.

When they finally put an end to their kiss, they stood still, panting; both drowning in the eyes of the other; both irrepressibly craving to resume their embrace, all night, until morning. They looked at each other, trying to process what had just happened. Her lips were still fluttering; she wanted more. She _needed_ more. His breath on her lips was an unbearable torture to her. Those blue eyes and those supplicating red lips were a real torment to him.

After some time, Hans stood up saying: "we should go back _home_… oh… I mean, to the inn… It's starting to get dark," and he held out his hand to help her get up. He was so nervous it made Elsa laugh quietly, covering her mouth with her hand, watching him do all of these pointless clumsy movements while he spoke and she was feeling happy. He was sincere.

They walked back to the inn in an awkward silence. Neither of them dared to speak to the other, both carefully avoiding eye contact with each other.

When they arrived to the inn, they still were mute. They laid down respectively on their bed and sofa without saying a word. The hours that went by seemed like forever and neither of them could find sleep. Elsa closed her eyes hoping to fall asleep as fast as possible. As for Hans, his eyes were open. He was staring at the ceiling, anxious. What happened earlier wasn't part of the plan. The plan was to simply lead her to his castle to finally become king. He wasn't supposed to grow fond of her. What would he do now? The best thing to do would be to resume the journey tomorrow, he thought. But, this kiss made him feel something that had hardly existed in his life; or rather, that had existed only once in his life.

It took place a few years ago, at the time when his uncle was king. He had fallen in love with a young lady of the nobility. They had spent an entire summer together and met almost every day. She was amazed by the little mansion where they would often go to, strolling around. The mansion belonged to his brother Jonas, but he made her believe it was his for he wanted to impress her. She wanted to quickly get engaged, before returning to her country. They got along so well Hans had given her a diamond studded ring. They were so in love. Or at least, that's what he thought. A week before her departure, he brought her to the castle in order to present her to his family. The moment she realized he had twelve brothers and, thus, was only fourteenth in line to the throne, she threw her ring at him, saying: "you'll _never_ ascend the throne. Why would I _waste_ my time with you?" He had remained speechless. The only moments of happiness he ever had in his whole life had just vanished with a blink of the eye. His world had literally fallen apart. She had left the next day with her luggage, and his shattered heart.

He turned his head toward the bed on which Elsa was lying. She was sleeping peacefully. She looked like an angel with her white-blonde hair falling down on her shoulder. He would never have thought things would turn out this way. Since the beginning of the journey, he had taken care of her, he had worried about her, but all of this had been done and felt for the sole and only purpose of resuming their way to the castle as soon as possible, right? _Right?_ In that case, why did they _remain_ in this village for so long whereas she _did_ recover from her injuries and the canicular days were nothing but a mere memory? Had he been afraid that if they did resume their journey, they'd be forced to stop again because her wound would have reopened? Or did he just make sure – without realizing it – to _extend_ their stay here because, in the end, he did enjoy her company? Because it finally felt like _home_? What should he do now? Resume the journey? Or… follow her advice and let go of his fears? Never before had he been that lost. For the first time, he could no longer see through his schemes.

* * *

They quickly ran out of money. Hans offered to work in the village but Elsa had refused. He couldn't do any manual work. He was unskilled. She said she would write to her kingdom to get gold coins. The messenger came as she expected. He was right there on his horse, waiting in front of the inn. They could see him through the window.

"Go ahead," Hans said to Elsa. He was standing in front of the window and was watching the messenger down there.

"Leave the inn to go out? All _alone_?" she asked almost incredulously. He was turning his back on her, and she couldn't see his face.

"Yes," Hans simply answered.

"Do you realize that if I get down those stairs, I'll have the opportunity to go back to my kingdom and, once there, to send guards here to make you prisoner?" She had actually thought about this. She wasn't feeling like a prisoner here with him but, thinking about it, that's exactly what she was.

"I do."

Without saying another word, she went down the stairs, determined. Hans remained near the window, a hand pressed against the glass. He watched Elsa running to the messenger who got down the horse to hand her a bag of coins. They exchanged a few words. It seemed an eternity. She walked to the horse and gently stroked her hand on its forehead. Hans stepped back, took the water jug on the table and poured himself a glass of water. He could hear the sound of hooves galloping away from the inn. He took a sip of water and put the glass back on the table. He glanced through the window once again: the street was empty. He felt his heart clench as he closed his eyes a moment.

Hans heard light footsteps on the stairs. The door opened slowly. He turned around to see Elsa taking a few steps in the room.

"Why did you come back?" he almost whispered. He didn't understand.

Elsa looked scared. She couldn't even look at him. She crossed her arms over her chest as if she was trying to reassure herself and replied:

"I don't know."

Hans walked to her and wrapped his arms around her. Her face nestled in his neck as he inhaled the scent of her hair. They remained embraced for a long time, without speaking.

* * *

_**Author's note: Yes yes, you've got it right! The horse is a hardcore Helsa shipper! Biggest plot twist ever! :D**_

_**Btw if you have some ideas of names for the horse, feel free to tell ;)**_

_**And because I'm feeling like sharing some "behind the scene" moments right now, I have to confess that during the conversation between Hans and Elsa, just before they kissed, I could totally picture teenage Hans singing Cinderella's song: "have faith in your dreams and someday your rainbow will come smiling thru; no matter how your heart is grieving, if you keep on believing, the dream that you wish will come true" (OMG Hans is a Disney princess! 2nd plot twist) LOL Hopefully, I wrote the kiss scene before the conversation scene because, otherwise, it could have totally ruined the moment ^^**_

_**I'm so sorry for the lack of update but this month is so time-consuming. So I may be late, but Happy Easter to all of you! :3**_

_**Special preview: next chapter will feature a cameo appearance of Hans's nose XD**_


	9. Some more chocolate?

**CHAPTER VIII : SOME MORE CHOCOLATE ?**

It became for them a kind of habit. Every morning, Hans would wake up first, get out, take Elske – the horse – with him and go to the nearest city to bring back the daily newspaper. This would leave Elsa the time to wash and primp before meeting him in the ground floor, sitting on a couch near a window, the newspaper in his hands. He wouldn't eat breakfast for it was a habit he kept from his imprisonment. She, however, would take her hot chocolate from the bar and sit next to him, resting her head on his shoulder and reading with him. This came naturally. Every time she was done reading the page, she would take a sip of her chocolate – this was an implicit signal – and Hans would turn the page. Once the _chocolate routine_ finished, they would walk around the village a little to get some fresh air. And it happened every morning.

Every morning, except this one. As usual, her head resting on his shoulder, she carried her cup to her lips and took a sip of the hot and tasty beverage. But he didn't turn the page. She waited a moment, thinking he wasn't finished reading yet but, as he still didn't react, she gave him a questioning look. He seemed disturbed and fearful. She sat up, put the cup of hot chocolate on the coffee table before them and gently asked him: "is something wrong?"

"This article is about me." There was not only fear in his voice but also sadness. She stared at him, concerned about him, before reading the article he was referring to. She had already read it but it didn't catch her attention. It was just announcing the execution of a man and a woman – their names were written down – who helped out a proscribed; that kind of things happened on a daily basis. She looked back at Hans, asking him with her eyes why he would get in a bad mood for so little. "I knew them. This old lady offered me hospitality, food and clothes, and this man lent me the horse which is currently in the cowshed." Elsa gasped in terror. "I'm sorry," she whispered, softly putting her hand on his. That day, Hans didn't come out to walk around. He wanted to be left alone for a while, but Elsa stayed with him for she felt he needed company, on the contrary.

* * *

A week later, things had returned to normal. They certainly became closer these last weeks. But it didn't bother her at all. She felt strangely safe around him. Even though she hadn't forgotten what he did to her, he had gotten under her skin. Her shoulder wound was now completely healed and had left a scar, but she still hadn't her powers back yet. Maybe she hadn't fully recovered?

Hans was sleeping on the sofa, but she, on the other hand, couldn't find sleep. She was thinking about her sister. What was she doing right now? Was she alright? Did she manage to rule the kingdom at her place? The messenger had told her last time that she had gone on a small trip with Kristoff. She told the messenger to reassure Anna when he'd go back to Arendelle telling her that she was fine and that she shouldn't worry about her.

The night went by and Elsa had finally fallen asleep, but her slumber was somewhat restless. She couldn't help tossing and turning in her bed. Suddenly, she uttered a piercing scream and woke up crying. Hans rushed to her; he could still see her crystal tears despite the darkness the room was in. He had never seen her that desperate since he had announced her the fake death of her sister before he had tried to stab her with his sword in the snow blizzard she created months ago. But, this time, he couldn't stand seeing her suffer.

He wrapped his arms around her and comforted her with gentle strokes and reassuring words. She nestled her face in his neck, her head resting on his shoulder, slowly calming down as her cries became sobs and her breathing soothed. She finally started sobbing her story out:

"I dreamt about Anna. She was looking for me… she followed me in the snow and… I don't know exactly what happened then, but… but when I turned around to look at her… she… she was lying motionless on the floor. She was in the middle of a sea of blood… and she had her eyes opened… and she was staring at me. But she was dead…" Her narration was interspersed with sobs and her body was still trembling. "Hans, I'm scared… I'm scared something happened to her…"

"Shh…" he said quietly, gently stroking her, "I'm sure she's fine, don't worry."

He didn't want to tell her her sister was a strong woman who was resourceful enough to escape death for he knew such a comment would be inappropriate coming from him. After all, he did leave her to die from her curse. Therefore, he just continued embracing her without saying a word. The blonde woman was calming down in his arms, so fragile and yet so powerful with her extraordinary powers; and feeling her body against his strangely comforted him as well.

They stayed embraced all night until the break of dawn. As Elsa looked peaceful again, Hans allowed himself a comment that had been running through his head all night long: "it's almost incredible how much you care about your sister. I don't understand…"

Elsa looked up at him with her puffy eyes. "What don't you understand?"

Hans hesitated a moment before replying: "well, I hate my brothers. And my brothers hate me. And they even hate each other."

"Wow… What did they do to you to make you feel that way?"

"Oh plenty," he answered with a sad smile on his lips, "let's just say the oldests just ignored me, and the youngests… loved to torment me.

She was staring at him with a sad compassionate face. "Do you have any idea of what did make them hate you so much?"

Hans stood silent for a moment. His eyes shifted toward the floor. After a few seconds, he finally said: "I… I killed my mother." Elsa blenched and gasped in horror, her hand abruptly sliding away from his torso. Hans continued talking though: "when she gave birth to me, she died. And I guess my brothers made me pay for it my entire life."

The young woman felt embarrassed about her behavior which had certainly hurt him. She tried to make up for it, gently stroking him. "It wasn't your fault. It's not like you planned to kill her…" She added the last sentence wisecracking slightly.

Hans immediately understood what she was referring to. "Elsa… I'm sorry… for attempting to kill you, and your sister. Had I _known_ you back then, I never would have done that." She had shown him there was another way – another path – he could choose.

Her eyes opened wide. She suddenly looked angry. "Ah? Because not knowing someone gives you right to kill them?"

Her sudden burst took him by surprise and he seemed chocked. "No, that's not what I'm saying… Back then, I would have got rid of everything and everyone preventing me to achieve my goal. I would have even cut my own arm if it was necessary. I was blind with my greed for power."

His excuses weren't sufficient to Elsa. "And now what?! You're telling me that now you can finally see?!" She freed herself from his embrace and got up. She was now standing in the middle of the room, fiercely staring at him.

"Elsa…" Hans sit up on the ledge of the bed, gloomily looking up to her.

She walked some steps toward him. "You fooled my little sister! She was just a pure and innocent soul seeking love and company. And you abused her!"

Her words were as sharp as the blade of a sword. Hans stared at her in disbelief. "Elsa, please… I said I'm sorry…"

"That's not enough!"

He sighed in despair. "What can I do to redeem myself in your eyes and your sister's? To prove I've changed?"

"Nothing! You can't do anything! You haven't changed at all! You're holding me captive and only God knows when we'll be departing again to your kingdom so you can trade me for a damn throne!"

Hans couldn't believe his ears. He _did_ set her free, giving her the choice to leave if she wanted to. But she _chose_ to stay. And now she was complaining about him holding her captive? He thought she had understood he had done everything he could – even though he hadn't been totally aware of it himself – not for this day to come. "We won't," he paused before adding, "we're staying here. I guess I've taken a fancy to you."

She looked as knocked off course by his last sentence as he was. His eyes wide opened, suddenly realizing what he just said, and she could perceive fear in the glance he was giving her. Elsa felt her heart skip a beat, and her face soften. Did he just confess he liked her? Anyway, she was still mad at him. "Why here? Why not heading back to Arendelle then? We're lacking food and hygiene here. I miss my sister!" she implored.

Hans dreaded this topic. He stood up from the bed and quietly replied: "I'm a traitor, Elsa. And all of your people are aware of that. I tried to murder two royals, to take over the throne of Arendelle, and now I even abducted their queen! If I ever place one foot again on the ground of your kingdom, they'll just kill me."

Elsa had calmed down a little bit. She crossed her arms as she watched him move slowly toward her before replying: "no, I'll tell them not to. They'll listen to me."

"Oh no, they won't," he retorted in mock.

Elsa took offense of his comment and uttered: "I'm their queen! Of course they will!"

Hans contemplated this woman standing on the defensive before him, her cheeks flushing for she was upset. He told her: "by now, my brother should have sent notice of my punishment to _everyone_, in _every_ kingdom. People who try to help me are sentenced to death, Elsa". He remembered what happened to the old lady who had helped him. "What if he learns you, Queen of Arendelle, are helping me out? He'll start a war. And I'm sorry to tell you that, Elsa, but you can't afford a war."

Elsa, shocked and offended, replied, squinting at him: "oh really? You'd be surprised of what I can do."

Hans sighed and added: "your navy isn't strong and large enough, not to mention your army. You won't stand a chance against my brother's. Your people will die, not just because of the war but also out of hunger. The economics of your kingdom are at their worst because of that frozen summer… plus this hot winter now I guess. You can't even hire manpower for a war. The only way you can win is to conclude an alliance with the Kingdom of Feuillenberge which possesses a navy that can compete with my brother's. But this Kingdom happens to be a great ally of the Kingdom of Weselton, and as you've cut down all commercial and diplomatic relationships with the Duke – which happens to be the cousin of the actual Queen consort of Feuillenberge – you'll never have their military support if a war were to be outbroken with the Southern Isles."

Elsa was impressed, and frightened, and angry with his wit. The man was intelligent. He was intelligent enough to understand over a few days in her kingdom what had taken her weeks to learn. He was right. For everything. And he certainly would have made a _great_ King.

However, she wouldn't let him win this battle. Her pride as a queen had been hurt and she was still mad at him. She didn't add a word and got out of the room, her jaw clenched. As she was getting down the stairs, she heard Hans's pleading voice:

"Elsa… Wait! Elsa! Please, wait." He walked down a few steps as well, grabbing her wrist. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry". He smoothly slid his arm around her waist and his chin rested on her right shoulder as he whispered in her ear: "Elsa, don't _abandon_ me. Don't _turn your back_ _on_ me, please." She could feel warm tears flowing down on her shoulder. He was crying. Yet, she didn't turn back to face him and, on the contrary, she freed herself from his embrace and resumed walking down the stairs, determined, until she get out of the inn. Hans silently watched her leave before he climbed the stairs, getting back to the room and sit down on the chair next to the window, looking upon the street below. Tears fell down on the table, leaving salty spots on the wood. He so wished the conversation had ended otherwise. He had let go of his fears as she had told him, becoming his insecure self once again, and he was already starting to regret it. Was he?

A few hours went by and the auburn haired man hadn't moved from his chair. Then he heard the door opening behind him and he turned around to see Elsa entering the room. She was still upset and she straightly went to the bed to lie down without giving him a glance or saying something, firmly turning her back on him.

He decided to leave her alone a moment and get out. He was walking down the streets of the village, thinking about the argument they had, when he walked by a bakery he had never seen before. He suddenly had an idea. He returned to the inn, came in the room and sit down on the bed next to Elsa. "We're not lacking food here, are we?" he whispered to her ear, dropping off a liquid on the tip of her nose, on her cheeks, and finally on her lips. Chocolate. She licked her lips with her tongue. Delicious. She turned her head to him, giving him not an angry stare but rather a whining look. He smiled and grabbed her arm to make her stand up. "Come with me. You'll enjoy yourself. I promise." How could he be so adorable? She rose up and followed him.

* * *

"Here, you add the cream right here, like this," he advised her while showing her the way. "Go on and taste it now." Elsa stared at what was before her: a cup of hot chocolate with whipped cream on top. She had never tasted this strange cream before and was quite hesitant, but the encouraging gaze Hans was giving her made her yield to her curiosity. They both seized their cup and took a sip of the delicious beverage: the cream sweetened the spicy bitter chocolate. He looked back at her and tried to hold back his irrepressible laughter as he saw Elsa having whipped cream all other her nose and mouth. She laughed too, covering her mouth with one hand, noticing Hans had the same problem. They laughed together and Hans added: "you should also taste this cake. It's a traditional dish of my kingdom". She took a slide and ate it; she liked it. He had had a good idea to bring her here for she had regained her long lost cheerfulness.

"Look," Hans continued on a more serious tone, "I can't go to Arendelle, but nothing stops you from writing a letter to your sister to tell her to spend a few days here with her fiancé."

Was he serious? She frowned at him and replied: "he's not her fiancé _yet_." God, the man had a tendency to rush things.

A large smile grew on his lips. "Oh! Whatever! Looks like the same to me." He took his fork, planted it in the cake and brought it to her mouth, allowing her to eat the piece of cake. "I'm sorry," he added, "for earlier." Elsa didn't reply. Instead, she dipped her finger into the whipped cream and put some of it on the tip of his nose, soflty giggling at the sight. Yes, she would write to her sister, today. She longed to see her again. "Some more chocolate?" he asked. Elsa nodded, smiling at him.

* * *

_**Author's note: "Uhm! Chocolate!" said no one ever...**_

_**Thank you for the awesome reviews ! :3**_


	10. The life I've never had

**CHAPTER IX : THE LIFE I'VE NEVER HAD**

Elsa had written to Anna asking her to come join her here, in this village, with Kristoff. She hadn't received a response yet, but she though it wouldn't be long before she get one. For the time being, she _carelessly_ enjoyed her life. She was catching up – so to speak – the time she had lost, confined in her room at her castle for all of those years by fear of hurting anyone. Her powers had always constituted a part of her but no having them anymore afforded her a feeling of freedom she had never experienced before. She could touch things without them turning instantly into ice, she could feel whatever surrounding her directly with her bare hands and not through gloves anymore, and she could even feel the pleasant warmth emanating from Hans's torso when she gently stroked him with her fingers.

She made a habit of sleeping beside him. Since the night she dreamt about Anna and he came to comfort her, she hadn't been able to find sleep, alone, in her bed. Then, a night, she got up and walked over to the man lying in the sofa. He wasn't sleeping either for his eyes were still opened, staring at the ceiling. When she advanced toward him, he just moved aside to make room for her without saying a word. He eventually wrapped his arm around her waist and she fell asleep. She didn't know why, but she felt comfortable and safe in his arms. He made her calm. Serene. He made her feel something she couldn't feel with anyone else. She loved the warmth, she loved his hot breath on her neck, she loved the feeling of his arms protectively wrapped around her. Elsa had got up in the middle of the night to join Hans on the sofa a few more times before he made up his mind to settle in her bed for good.

* * *

That morning, Hans woke up first as usual. Then, she got down to meet him and drink her hot chocolate while reading the newspaper. But, today, what Hans had in his hands wasn't a newspaper but a poster instead.

"Today is Klamårr Day," he said, welcoming her with a large grin.

Elsa, however, gave him a questioning look. She had no idea of what he was talking about. She repeated, an eyebrow raised: "Klamårr Day?"

Hans motioned for her to sit down next to him and explained to her: "it's a traditional festival here, in the Southern Isles, celebrating the unification of the Kingdom. I didn't know small villages celebrated it as well but, when I went out earlier, I saw that they were beginning to set up stalls like everywhere. Traditionally, merchants from neighboring towns come to sell the products of their region, there are parades and dances, and the festival ends up with fireworks."

"Fireworks?" Elsa's eyes lit up. She hadn't seen fireworks since her parents thrown a party for Anna's birth.

Hans gently looked at her. He loved when she had this amazed expression on her face. He loved it so much he took her in his arms and whispered in her ear: "let's buy some clothes for the occasion," before leaving a slight kiss on her cheek which made Elsa blush.

And even though she knew he tried to kill her several times, she couldn't help but to feel happy and free with him. It seemed like she had been right about giving him a chance, about leaving the past in the past. And deep down she knew that he wasn't deceiving her for what would be the point for him to manipulate her _now_? There was absolutely _nothing_ to gain. Elsa was convinced he was genuine with his feelings for her. Hadn't she felt his heart beat at a breakneck pace whenever she got too close to him at night, in the bed? No one could have control over these things, not even him.

* * *

Elsa had asked Olga to help her dress and do her hair. She had bought a night blue dress fitted at the waist with a white ribbon matching her shoes. Olga was doing her hair. She wanted something kind of sophisticated, like a chignon.

"You're gorgeous, Elsa," the innkeeper said. "Your husband must be proud of having such a beautiful wife. And, tonight, I'll personally make sure no one bothers you, I promise," she added, winking.

"Tonight?" Elsa didn't get the point. "What's happening tonight?" she asked.

Olga gently laughed. "Oh my! Don't act innocent. It's totally normal for couples to do this kind of thing."

Elsa suddenly became as red as a tomato. Olga still believed Hans and her were married. She replied, stammering: "No… It's not like that… Nothing will happen…"

Olga's mouth dropped; she looked shocked. "You haven't done it yet?!" she uttered. Elsa glanced furtively at the door for she was anxious someone could hear them.

She tried to catch this up. "It's just… well, no…" She was staring at the floor. What lie could she make up? "I'm not ready," she finally said, hoping the innkeeper would change the subject.

Olga let out a "ah" of understanding. "He's respectful. These kinds of men are difficult to find these days," she added thoughtfully, "anyway, if you need some advice, I'm here for you." She winked again while tying the last ribbon in Elsa's hair.

* * *

"I don't dance," she firmly replied to him.

"Oh, come on! It's just for tonight," he insisted with supplicating eyes that didn't match his large mischievous smile.

"I _can't_ dance," Elsa confessed, "or rather… I've never learned to dance." She has always been ashamed of it. A queen who couldn't dance?! One has never heard of such a thing! This was one of the reasons why she didn't like organizing receptions in her castle. She would eventually leave all the dances to Anna and spend the evening sitting at her table, alone, watching people twirling in front of her. It was too late for her to learn now.

"I'll teach you," he said, smiling encouragingly at her.

"No, it's not worth it," she replied, looking anxiously around her, wrapping her arms around herself.

Hans caught her eyes and sighed. "I know the reason why you don't want to dance," he came closer to her and gently stroked her cheek with his hand, "you're ashamed and you're scared people will judge you and mock you. But, look around you: no one here can dance and yet they're dancing anyway. And, no one here knows you're a queen. Come on, what happened to the beautiful woman who told me to let go of fear?"

He was right, she was scared of being judged. She glanced around her once again and saw that, indeed, nobody could dance. A smile appeared on her face as she looked back at Hans and she grabbed his hands. She would let go of fear. Lucky her, Hans knew what he was doing and skillfully led the dance. After a while, Elsa stopped and curled in his arms. "I'm feeling dizzy," she said.

"Let's sit down for a moment." Hans led her to the nearest bench and made her sit on it. He leaved for a while to come back holding cups in his hands. He sat next to her and said: "drink this, it will help you feel better." Hans handed her a cup and, while she drank the contents – which was sweet and made her suddenly feel much better – he was playing with the ribbons in her hair, and it irritated Elsa who glowered at him. He pouted a moment before getting up from the bench and disappearing again. Some time later, he came back with a small box in his hands he gave to Elsa who opened it up. Inside were silver snowflake shaped earrings. The same earrings she's been ogling at when they had looked around the stalls earlier. She thanked him and let him put them on her ears. She really was sublime.

People started to gather at the same place and it didn't take long before they heard the first firework burst. Hans helped Elsa rise up and they looked for a place from where they'd have a good view of the show. "The fireworks begin at the castle you see there then, once it's finished, it's the turn of all the surrounding cities and towns to throw their fireworks in the air at the same time," he explained to her. He used to love this festival when he was younger. He used to escape from the castle and take a ride with Sitron until he reached a hill from where he could contemplate the show as a whole. He was now excited about the fact that he could share this moment with someone. He grabbed her hand and stared at her for a moment: she was amazed by the fireworks, each of them more stunning than the one before. Soon, it was the turn of the cities and the villages to throw their fireworks. Elsa had the impression that the colorful lights were falling right on her with each burst of fireworks so, the first few times, she put her hands on her head as if to protect herself while Hans laughed and pulled her closer to him. Then, she became used to it and reveled in watching the show with the eyes of the child and a large smile on her lips.

* * *

Their first night together hadn't followed the fireworks festival. No. It happened about a couple of weeks later. Elsa had no longer been able to find sleep while lying next to Hans. Her body demanded more than strokes in her hair or chaste kisses on her forehead, therefore, she resolved to ask for advice from Olga. She hoped she would tell her how to behave for Hans to get the point about what she wanted. First, Olga encouraged her to purchase a new nightgown shorter than the one she already had. Much, _much_ shorter. Then, she advised her to use essential oils as perfume and to make her hair more sensual. A sensual hairstyle? How did that look like? She would improvise in due time, she thought. That's how she ended up with large strands of hair escaping from the messy bun she had attempted to do.

When Hans entered the room, he didn't notice anything for it was dark and she was heavily wrapped in the blankets up to her neck, unable to move. She was like paralyzed by fear and yet Olga had told her she would take pleasure from this little game. He walked toward the bed and, lying down on it, paid her a compliment on how she smelled good before beginning to fall asleep. That's when she started kissing his neck, his jawline and then, his lips. He responded to her kiss and opened his eyes. "Whoa whoa, slow down… are you drunk or something?" he asked her, dazed and smirking at the same time. No. She couldn't have been more sober than she was right now. She lifted up and resumed kissing him passionately. His hands slid down to her waist and he moaned as she started to unbutton his shirt. She wasn't afraid anymore, she knew what she wanted. But Hans placed his hands on hers and asked her if she knew what she was doing; if she was aware of the fact that, if they went on, there would be no turning back; and finally if that was what she truly wanted. She nodded and torn out his shirt. Oh how he loved this confident and determined woman. She never knew how or even when, but he ended up on top of her, devouring her with kisses and inflicting her so many caresses. This time, she was the one moaning with pleasure.

They did it a couple of times before falling asleep, completely exhausted. Hans had tortured her with strokes and kisses literally for hours before giving her what she wanted. It was her first time ever, but the movements had seemed so instinctive to her. She could still feel his lips on her skin, his warm and panting breath, but especially the kisses he had covered her naked body with and that had left love bites almost everywhere.

In the morning, they were literally intertwined together. She woke up before him. He was still sleeping, lying on his back. She run her hand on his torso and came closer to him, replacing a strand of hair that had fallen on his eye before dropping light kisses along his jaw line. A smile appeared on his lips and she went on this way until he opened his eyes. Elsa was radiant, and her hair was a mess. "One more time?" she said with a mischievous glare. He grabbed her by her forearms and pulled her to him, capturing her lips with his mouth. It was not until the afternoon that they went down to eat their _breakfast_, clearly red-faced with embarrassment, under the amused gaze of Olga.

* * *

One evening, as they were about to sleep, Elsa asked him a question, or rather, asked him a favor she had in mind for a long time: "can you swim?" She could see he was staring at her with an amused look on his face thanks to the oil lamp set on the table next to the bed.

"Of course I can. I can do anything," he replied, almost boasting. "You can even say I'm perfect," he added putting on a smirk when he met her skeptical glance. He loved to brag just to see _this_ look on her face.

"If that's the case, then I'd like you to teach me." Swimming was something she had always dreamt of doing but never had the possibility to experience. Even when she bathed, she would always end up freezing the water and it wasn't really possible to swim in frozen water. As a child, she used to watch from her window Anna playing in the lake with her parents, and she had always felt sad about not being able to join them. Hans nodded in approval. He would teach her how to swim in the river which ran through the village. She would easily be able to touch the bottom of the river with her feet for it wasn't too deep. "But, are you _sure_ you can swim?" she teased him even though she already knew the answer having seen him swim to the shore that time when Anna punched him in the nose with such strength he had been projected overboard.

"Yes. Why?"

"I highly doubt it," she replied, mocking him.

Hans took offense of her comment. "Ah yes? What makes you think that way?" he asked her, still pouting.

"Well… to begin with, you're not _that_ perfect…" She had spoken in a seductive voice full of innuendoes.

"Am I?" he replied, looking surprised and intrigued to know more about what she thought of him. He turned to face her, on a side lying position. "I'd certainly like to know what you could possibly reproach me with?"

She lifted up and ran her hand on his torso while saying: "you are… pretty. Lordly. Shrewd."

Hans smiled and replied, amused: "these are not flaws. On the contrary, these are qualities."

Elsa frowned at him, putting on a fake upset look. "I'm not done yet... Sometimes, you act really childishly."

"Pfff…" was all he found to retort.

She, however, didn't stop here. "And, you have a really poor sense of humor. Really," she said, looking at him playfully.

"Glad to hear it," he said ironically, yet believing her. He had never been skilled at making jokes for he never had an audience to hear him out. He gestured her to resume her description of him. It amused him all things considered.

"And… you snore at night…" Elsa looked serious this time.

"Wait, what?" he exclaimed, blinking his eyes several times, literally shaken by her remark. He snored at night? He had never noticed it. He stayed speechless for a moment, still shocked.

"It's true! I barely get some sleep!" she added as if to justify herself. She may have upset him but his confused look and his adorable rosy freckled cheeks entertained her so much.

Hans recovered from his emotion and smoothly slid a hand under her chin, getting dangerously closer to her. "Well, in that case…," he said, his face mere inches away from hers, "I guess I just have to make love to you so hard you'll fall asleep from exhaustion." He stared at her, a slight smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.

"Fair enough," she chuckled before capturing his lips with hers. The remedy to her insomnia would definitely please her.

* * *

**_Author's note: _****_So Elsa finally got to dance! Hurray! And Hans snores at night... Don't know why I came up with this idea, but I guessed he needed to have a perceptible flaw... ^^_**

**_Also, Klamårr Day doesn't exist (or so I think), I invented it, but it is inspired by the Kalmar Union which happened from the 14th to the 16th century between Scandinavian countries, long before the story actually..._**

**__****_Hope you liked this chapter as much as I liked writing it :)_**


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